Train kills couple

JAKARTA (JP): A man and a woman were killed by a speeding train at a train crossing in Rawa Buaya, West Jakarta, Saturday night.

The victims were identified as Edy Purnomo, 23, and Mariyani, 17. Both were Rawa Buaya residents.

Witnesses said the two were seen walking along the railway tracks holding hands when the train was coming. People near them shouted warnings but the couple apparently did not hear them.

The train, plying the Tangerang-Tanah Abang route, reportedly blew its whistle to notify them as well, a police officer said.

"People said that it was their fate since it seemed that they didn't care about the warnings and kept walking until the train hit them," First Sgt. Aristyono of the local subprecinct said.

Both died instantly at the scene.

Their bodies were sent to the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for a post mortem examination.

Mariyani's sister Tugirah, 32, said she was told about the incident by officers of the Cengkareng Police Subprecinct.

Mariyani was an administrative assistant at PT Indomesin on Jl. Daan Mogot. Edy worked on temporary jobs.

Tugirah said Mariyani had migrated from Lampung a year ago, soon after she graduated from junior high school.

"We never knew that she had a boyfriend here. She never told us before," Tugirah said.

Mariyani left her boarding house at about 6 p.m. and told her friends that she would buy food to break her fast.

"But she never came back again," Tugirah said, adding that her relatives in Jakarta would find it difficult to tell their parents about Mariyani's death.

Tugirah planned to send her sister's body to Lampung to be buried. (04)