Wed, 11 Jun 2003

Gumarang train derails, one killed

INDRAMAYU, West Java: One person died and three others suffered serious injury when the Gumarang train serving Jakarta- Surabaya jumped the tracks on Monday evening at 9:25 p.m. near the Terisi station in Cikedug district, Indramayu regency.

Hendro Purwantoro, 23, a resident of Blimbing district in Malang, East Java, died after he was hit by a section of track that sliced through the car.

The injured victims are I Made Kurdi, 20, and Ni Nyoman Suyan, 20, both from Lampung province, and Sonhaji, 23, a resident of East Jakarta. All the victims were taken to the Indramayu general hospital.

Despite the statement by Suhartono, the spokesman for PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI)'s Operational Area III Cirebon, that the derailment had not disrupted train schedules, it delayed seven trains departing Jakarta for Semarang, Surakarta and Yogyakarta.

In Pekalongan, Central Java, a cargo train collided with a truck on Tuesday morning at around 3:10 a.m., injuring the driver's assistant Sunardi, who suffered concussion. He was taken to the Udi Kraton hospital.

The truck driver only suffered minor injuries, Antara said. -- JP

;JP;NANA RUKMANA;ANTARA; ANPAa..r.. Across-festival-Borobudur Festival to oppose Borobudur Int'l Festival JP/5/ACROSS

Festival to oppose Borobudur Int'l Festival

YOGYAKARTA: The Borobudur International Festival kicks off today and but will face competition in the form of an alternative festival being organized by people living i the foothills of the five mountains located in the vicinity of Borobudur Temple.

People living near and on the slopes of Mount Merapi, Mount Merbabu, Mount Sumbing, Mount Andong and Mount Menoreh are set to hold the Five Mountains Festival at Warangan village at the foot of Mount Merbabu on June 15.

Artists and activists had earlier said they would also stage a "Borobudur Alternative" at the Langgeng gallery and studio in Magelang, Central Java, as well as the Kampong Festival in the Borobudur Temple parking lot from June 12 to June 27.

The Five Mountains Festival will be marked by a wayang suket (straw puppet) performance by Ki Slamet Gundono, a speech on cultural matters by activist Wardah Hafidz, and performances by 50 foreign participants.

The Borobudur International Festival is being opposed by artists, cultural activists and locals. It will be officially opened by President Megawati Soekarnoputri on June 14. The opening ceremony will include a performance by the Kinarya GSP dance troupe, directed by the president's brother, Guruh Soekarnoputra. -- JP