Train hits car, killing one

The Jakarta Post, Brebes, Central Java

One person was killed and two others injured when a cargo train hit a Daihatsu jeep in Brebes regency, Central Java, on Tuesday morning.

All of the victims were passengers of the jeep, which was pushed 50 meters from the scene of collision near the village of Pebatan in Warnasari subdistrict.

The deceased was identified as Mulyana, 40, the jeep's driver. He was a resident of Sumedang regency in West Java. The injured were identified as Dadan, 32, and Nasir, 35, also from Sumedang. They are being treated at the Bhakti Asih Hospital in Brebes.

Eyewitnesses said the crash occurred at 9 a.m. when the Daihatsu attempted to pass through a railroad crossing unequipped with a crossing gate. The train, traveling from the east to Jakarta, crashed into the vehicle.

"The collision could not be avoided and the car was pushed up to 50 meters away. The crash was really loud, prompting villagers to rush to the scene," said Endang Supriatna, who witnessed the incident.

Endang said it took hours for residents to drag the victims out of the crushed vehicle.

The accident did not disrupt rail service.

"Everything is running smoothly. Even the train involved in the accident was able to continue its trip," Suhartono, spokesman for state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post in the West Java city of Cirebon.

This was not the first time a train has collided with a vehicle along Java's north coast.

There also have been at least six incidents over the past two months of trains jumping the tracks in the area between Karawang in West Java and Brebes.

Meanwhile, police expressed concern on Tuesday over an increase in the number of fatal traffic accidents along the north coast of Java, which they said claimed about 9,000 lives a year.

Most of the crashes are the result of driver error, Comr. Gen. Adang Darajatun was quoted by Antara as saying.