Indonesia train crash kills dozens

[John Ashworth]

BBC 2 October 2010 Last updated at 10:50 GMT

Indonesia train crash kills dozens

A train crash near the Indonesian city of Pemalang in Central Java province has killed at least 36 people, officials say.

Dozens more were hurt and many bodies were trapped in the carriages, though almost all have now been retrieved.

The crash happened before dawn, when a train from the capital Jakarta hit a stationary train at Petarukan station.

Officials said the most likely reason for the accident was a signalling error.

The BBC's Karishma Vaswani in Jakarta says train accidents are common in Indonesia, with officials often citing human error, badly maintained trains and a lack of investment in rail infrastructure as the causes.

High speed

The train from the capital was heading to Surabaya when it crashed into the back of another train bound for Semarang that was stationary at a platform at about 0300 on Saturday (2000GMT Friday).

The train from Jakarta was travelling at high speed, officials said.

Most of the dead and injured were in three carriages which were derailed and overturned.

At least 40 people are reported injured, many with broken bones or burns. All have now been taken from the scene and are being treated in hospital.

One witness living close to the station told Agence France-Presse news agency: "Suddenly I heard a loud crashing and the sound of many people crying. I saw many passengers had been thrown outside the carriages."

One passenger on the stationary train told AFP: "It was really scary. I went outside and realised that the rear carriages had been smashed."

National police spokesman Iskandar Hasan said: "The suspected cause of the accident was a mistake in the traffic management system."

Transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan added: "It may have been mechanical. We're checking to see if the signals of the parked train were working properly."

There were also reports of a second train crash in the town of Solo, which left one person dead.

Mr Ervan said that information was still being collected on casualties there.

Six died in a train crash in East Java in June.

[John Ashworth]

Indonesian train crash kills dozens

At least 36 people killed and more than 40 injured as one train crashes into rear of another in Central Java

* David Batty
* guardian.co.uk, Saturday 2 October 2010 12.10 BST

A train crash at a railway station in Indonesia has killed at least 36 people and injured more than 40.

The crash happened at 3am local time when a train from the capital, Jakarta, ploughed into the rear of a stationary train at a station in Petarukan, a coastal city in Central Java province.

It took almost an hour for rescue workers and ambulances to arrive. Rescuers then spent several hours searching through the wreckage for trapped survivors of the crash, which knocked several carriages off the track and littered the area with debris.

"Bloody corpses were hanging from the carriages," said Anwar Sumarno, a 24-year-old university student who had been sitting near the front of the stationary train.

"The injured were screaming in the darkness, but there was nothing we could do," he said. "Everyone was in a state of shock."

Residents helped police and rescue teams retrieve the bodies of those killed and carry survivors to stretchers. Many of those hurt in the crash, including several children, suffered severe injuries and broken bones.

By early this afternoon, only one body was still trapped inside an up-ended carriage, according to a rescue worker. Thirty-five other bodies were taken to three nearby hospitals, said Tri Yuniasari, a spokeswoman for the Hasyim Ashari hospital.

Among the victims were Bayu Sakti, a 33-year-old army sergeant, his wife, 29, and their four-year-old son.

"It'd been six months since they'd come home," Bayu Sakti's 60-year-old mother, Agatha, told the news website Detik.com. "We were waiting for them."

More than 40 people were hurt, including several children, health officials said. Some had severe injuries and broken bones.

Cranes were used to remove some of the heavy wreckage.

Investigators are trying to determine if human error or a mechanical failure was to blame.

A transportation ministry spokesman, Bambang Ervan, said: "We're checking to see if the signals of the parked train were working properly."

The crash is the latest in a run of plane, train and ferry accidents in Indonesia in recent years that have killed hundreds. The country has a poor reputation for safety standards and maintenance.

Just an hour after the collision in Petarukan, another train crashed in the town of Solo, also in Central Java, killing at least one person.

[Marc Russell]

Indonesia mostly uses ex Japanese rolling stock. And 70% of transport budget pays staff wages