Train driver dies of electrocution

JAKARTA: A train driver, Johanes, was electrocuted while clearing away tree branches blocking the track on an electrified rail line on Tuesday afternoon. He died on the way to the hospital.

"Johanes was trying to clear fallen branches from the high voltage rail line between Tanah Abang and Manggarai railway station," spokesman for the state railway company PT KAI's Jakarta branch, Ahmad Sujadi, was quoted as saying by the Detikcom news portal.

The railway line was littered with branches downed by the heavy rain on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the victim forgot to cut the current before clearing away the branches, and due to the wet conditions the current jumped from the train to the track where the driver was working.

Following the incident, PT KAI urged the Jakarta Parks Agency to cut back large trees along the railway line to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future. -- JP