Police name suspect in fatal train derailment

Police name suspect in fatal train derailment

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Kebumen

Police in the Central Java district of Kebumen have declared the
driver of a box truck as a suspect in the railway accident in
which a train hit the box truck and derailed, killing at least
six people and injuring 30.

The locomotive and eight of the train's 11 carriages, packed
with around 450 passengers returning to Jakarta after celebrating
Idul Fitri in their hometowns, derailed and plowed into rice
fields.

Ahmad Saefuddin, 32, has been accused of causing the fatal
derailment on Monday night at Tersobo village in Prembun
subdistrict, Kebumen.

"We will charge him with (violating) Article 359 of the
Criminal Code, notably with recklessness that causes injury to,
or the death of, others," Kebumen Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr.
Prasta Wahyu Hidayat said at his office Wednesday. The charge
carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Saefuddin is being held for further interrogation at the
Kebumen Police office.

The Dwipangga express train, traveling from the Central Java
town of Solo to Jakarta, skidded off the tracks after hitting the
top of the box truck, license number B-9089-ZJ, which had gotten
stuck at the entrance of the underpass running beneath, and
perpendicular to, the railroad.

Hidayat added that the derailment occurred also for the reason
that the tracks had been bent out of shape to a point 37
centimeters from where the box truck had struck the roof of the
underpass.

He said Saefuddin should not have driven his truck into the
underpass, which accommodates vehicles up to a maximum height of
2.4 meters; the box truck Saefuddin was driving had a height of
2.7 meters.

"The driver will be punished accordingly, and the truck owner
must also share the responsibility in order to prevent similar
accidents from recurring in the future," he said.

The crash also crippled the main line on the southern coast of
Java, which serves the Jakarta-Surabaya route passing through
Yogyakarta, Kebumen, Kroya and Purwokerto.

The accident caused the cancellation of several trains heading
from Jakarta to Surabaya,and delayed the arrival of other trains
for more than 10 hours as they were rerouted to the northern
coast line.

Meanwhile, the tracks running through Kebumen have already
been cleared, and the line was operating normally by Tuesday
evening.

Central Java Governor Mardiyanto praised state-owned railway
company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) on Wednesday for quickly
clearing the railroad and restoring operations. The governor also
expressed his gratitude to local government officials and the
villagers of Kebumen for their quick response in helping the
victims of the crash.

He said that the departure and arrival times of as many as 62
trains had been rescheduled due to Monday's accident.

Only three of the six passengers killed have been identified
at the Kebumen public hospital so far. They are: Aryono, 40, from
Solo; Bambang Supriyanto, 36, from Yogyakarta; and Maedi Hendri,
28, from Mampang Prapatan in South Jakarta.

Fatal crashes are common along the country's poorly maintained
railroads and railway systems. Carriages are often overcrowded
and signaling systems are prone to breaking down. On Dec. 25,
2001, at least 30 were killed in a train crash in Central Java.

Indonesia is currently in its busiest season for travel with
millions of people crisscrossing cities throughout the country to
attend family reunions celebrating Idul Fitri, the post-fasting
month of Ramadhan.