Four killed in two train accidents in Bintaro

JAKARTA (JP): Four people were killed in two subsequent train accidents Friday night and yesterday morning in Bintaro, South Jakarta.

Sgt. Bambang of the Kebayoran Lama Police subprecinct said the first accident took place Friday at 9:10 p.m. at a railway crossing in Pesanggrahan subdistrict, South Jakarta, claiming three lives.

Yesterday morning, also in Bintaro, a construction worker was struck dead by a train in an area close to Friday night's accident site, Bambang said.

"The three men -- Maryono, his 15-year-old son, Hery, and Suparno -- were hit by a cargo train bound for Cilegon, West Java from the Kebayoran Lama railway station," he said.

Bambang said police were questioning Pamudji, the railway crossing attendant, over the accident.

There were no official explanations on the cause of Friday's accident. Some area residents said that the railway crossing gate was not lowered when the train was coming. They said the victims must have attempted to walk on the tracks when the train was nearing,

Other people who claimed to have witnessed the accident said the railway crossing gate was closed by Pamudji, but the victims, impatient, tried to lift the gate and walk over the tracks.

Others said the railway crossing gate was not lowered and the train came without sounding its horn or shining its light.

Police could not confirm whether the railway crossing attendant received no signals before the train came or if the victims tried to trespass onto the tracks.

Maryono and Hery lived on Jl. Pondok Jengkol, Pondok Aren District, in Tangerang, while Suparno lived on Jl. Jati Padang, Pasar Minggu district, in South Jakarta.

Meanwhile, the construction worker, identified as Sutarno, was found dead by local residents, lying on the ground with his left leg separated from the body. No one witnessed him being hit by the train.

The 25-year-old victim, who is survived by a wife and son, lived on Jl. Bintaro Permai in South Jakarta.

In October 1987, more than 100 passengers were killed and 300 others were injured when two commuter trains collided head-on in the same area, 300 meters from the railway crossing.

The crowded passenger train coming from Serpong, West Java collided with another passenger train from Kebayoran Lama.

In the same area, a train transporting coal hit a truck that stalled on the track on Aug. 19, 1991, leaving three men dead and 19 injured. (jun)