Train crash claims 10 lives in W. Java

JAKARTA (JP): Two trains collided head-on in Cirebon, West Java in the early hours of Friday morning, killing 10 people.

Preliminary findings indicate that the accident occurred when the driver of one of the trains fell asleep.

"There is no excuse. The driver had already had one day's rest. But apparently he didn't use his time properly," said Rony Wahyudi, head of the Cirebon office of Perumka, the state railway firm.

The Tegal Arum train, traveling from Jakarta to the Central Java town of Tegal, was moving at full speed on the wrong track when it rammed into the Senja Ekonomi, which was making a stop at Arjawinangun station en route from Surakarta to Jakarta.

Eight people were killed instantly and two others died at the local hospital, according to the Antara news agency.

Among the victims were a married couple, Darsan and Tanya, and their 14-year-old daughter Tanti, who were all seated in the first car of the Tegal Arum. Their six-year-old son Timbul Jaya is still recovering from his injuries and has not yet been informed that he is now an orphan.

All the dead victims had been traveling in the first car of the Tegal Arum.

The accident also left at least 50 passengers from both trains injured, many with broken arms and legs. All are being treated at hospitals in Cirebon.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto confirmed that the accident was caused by negligence on the part of the train operator and pointed out that the signals were in working order at the time and that the train's brakes had been working properly.

The Tegal Arum's driver ignored a signal requiring it to stop. "He might have fallen asleep at that time," Haryanto said, recalling that the accident occurred at 2:30 a.m.

The minister said, however, that his office will conduct a thorough investigation to locate the cause of the accident.

A Tegal Arum passenger recalled that the train was moving faster than normal immediately after leaving Jakarta. "It only stopped when it crashed."

Both trains suffered extensive damage, but the accident did not cause any major congestion along the busy railway line between Jakarta and Central Java because it occurred on a minor alternate route.

Friday's accident was the first major rail crash in Indonesia this year.

Last year, 20 people died when two trains collided in Depok, near Jakarta. The worst train crash in the country's history was in 1987 in Bintaro, South Jakarta, when 129 people were killed. (05/yns)