The death toll from a collision between two trains at Bekasi rail station near Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has risen to 14, with 84 people receiving hospital treatment, state-owned railway operator KAI confirmed on Tuesday morning.
The crash occurred late on Monday night between a Jakarta-Cikarang commuter line train and the Argo Bromo Anggrek long-distance service, Indonesia’s premier high-speed train between Jakarta and Surabaya, KAI spokeswoman Anne Purba said. The initial toll of five dead and 79 injured climbed sharply by daybreak.
KAI spokesman Franoto Wibowo said preliminary findings indicate a taxi clipped the commuter train at a level crossing, leaving it stalled on the tracks where it was then struck by the long-distance service.
Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), said emergency workers were still trying to free passengers trapped in the wreckage. He told the local news outlet Kompas.com that rescue efforts had been complicated by the cramped working space and severe damage to the carriages, forcing crews to “slowly” cut through the metal framework with angle grinders.
Karina Amanda, spokesperson for the commuter line operator, told Reuters that the latest data as of 08:45 Western Indonesian Time confirmed the 14 fatalities. The Argo Bromo Anggrek operates between Jakarta and Surabaya, two of Indonesia’s busiest urban centres, and the Jakarta-Cikarang route serves daily commuters into the capital.
Indonesian rail authorities have not yet released a formal cause for the collision pending the conclusion of the investigation.
Source: Newswire (Al Jazeera).
