Insurance to be paid for train crash victims

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned life insurance company PT Jasa Raharja promised yesterday to compensate all victims of Monday's train disaster in Tasikmalaya, West Java, which killed 20 people and injured more than 90 others.

"Our staff are working with the police and other agencies at the accident site to obtain accurate data on the number and identity of victims," Jasa Raharja spokesman Yusdiman Ahmad told Antara.

"We'll try not to let the victims or their relatives wait too long for the compensation," he added.

The firm pays Rp 2 million (approximately US$884) compensation to the families of people who die or are permanently disabled in public transport accidents and up to Rp 1 million for medical treatment for the injured.

"Once we have full data on the victims, and they meet requirements, we'll pay the compensation," Yusdiman said.

So far, however, the firm has only identified eight of the people who died in the train disaster as being entitled to the compensation.

The packed Galuh-Kahuripan train from Bandung, West Java, was heading for Kediri, East Java, when it left the tracks in the village of Cipendeuy, about one hour before it was scheduled to arrive at Tasikmalaya station.

Antara reported that state train company Perumka has also promised to pay additional compensation to the victims or their relatives. Spokeswoman Neni Siti Hasanah said the compensation will also be paid to victims who were not carrying tickets.

"They will all be compensated," she said.

Some crew members of the train told the news agency that they "suspected" the accident would take place but failed to do anything to prevent it.

Machinist Djudju, 51, who survived the disaster, said that he and co-workers Supar, Suherman and Didi Supardi had been aware of the train's brake failure before the derailment.

"There was nothing we could do but pray after we realized the brakes had failed and we couldn't stop the train," Djudju said.

Djudju said he had thought that the train would either crash at a spot near the Cibahayu River or in the Cirahayu River. There is a distance of some 750 meters between the two rivers.

The number of fatalities would have been greater if the train had passed the Cibahayu River and plunged into the Cirahayu instead, he said. The latter river was at a lower location and the train tracks were more sharply winding at that point, he added.

"The train would have been going faster and the accident would have been worse than it was," he said.

Djudju said that Suherman called the Bandung railway station for emergency help prior to the crash, but received no response.

He said he had found out later that the person in charge in the Bandung station had fainted on hearing that the train was about to crash.

Perumka president Soemino Eko Saputro said the crash occurred because, among other things, the train was running at higher speed than the 49 km/hour allowed.

As of yesterday, 53 wounded passengers were still being treated in the Tasikmalaya General Hospital. Suherman and Didi Supardi were among those killed in the accident.

No official statement has been made as to the number of passengers aboard the train when it crashed. Local media have given figures ranging from 351 to 758.

Residents near the crash site said Monday's accident was the third in the past 40 years. In 1959, more than 400 people were killed in a similar disaster.(imn)