14 killed in train vs minibus tragedy

Slamet Susanto and Suherdjoko ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Klaten, Central Java   |  Mon, 07/06/2009 9:54 AM  |  Headlines

Rail collision: Local residents watch as a destroyed minibus is removed from the railway tracks at Ceper village, Klaten, Central Java. Eleven passengers were killed and several others seriously injured after the Prambanan Ekspres train struck the minivan while it attempted to cross the railway line. Antara/Hasan Sakri Ghozali

At least 14 people were killed and a dozen others severely injured as the Prambanan Express (Prameks) diesel railway train (KRD) serving the Surakarta-Yogyakarta route crashed into an overloaded minibus Monday in Jombor village, Ceper subdistrict, Ceper district, Klaten, Central Java.

The public relations officer of the state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api’s Yogyakarta Operational Region VI, Eko Budiyanto, said the accident occurred at 10:35 a.m. local time at a grade crossing called Mbah Ruwet.

“It is an unguarded crossing. The accident was unavoidable. The Prameks train was speeding when the minibus crossed the grade crossing,” Eko Budiyanto said Sunday.

Eko added the minibus, with police number AD 1444 BE, was dragged dozens of meters away from the accident site, derailing two of the train wheels.

The minibus was reportedly transporting 35 passengers, who were family members of a bride from Sragen, Central Java.

They were heading to a village in Klaten, reportedly only a kilometer away from the accident site, for a wedding.

Ngadiyo Yoso Suwito, 70, one of the surviving passengers, said the number of passengers on board exceeded the capacity of the minibus and that many did not have their own seats during the travel.

The overload, he added, had even caused one of the minibus' tires to explode in Sumberlawang district, Sragen, Central Java.

Another tire, according to Ngadiyo, exploded when the minibus was crossing the railway in Ceper.
It failed to move further as the speeding Prameks train approached, so the accident was unavoidable.

Head of the Klaten police's traffic unit Adj. Comr. Nicolas Dedi Afrianto said the driver of the minibus, Turbudi, died in the accident.

Apart from the 14 fatalities, 12 passengers were reported to have suffered from severe injuries while the rest only had minor ones.

The injured were currently receiving medical treatment at the Klaten Islamic Hospital and the Tegalyoso Suraji Tirto Negoro Hospital, also in Klaten.

Sri Berlianti, a doctor at the Klaten Islamic Hospital's Emergency Unit, said of the 12 minibus passengers that were sent to the hospital, three had died.

The others were in critical conditions due to their severe injuries, mostly on their heads, legs and arms.

The other 11 deceased, she said, were sent to the Suraji Tirto Negoro hospital and were all identified as residents of Bronto village, Janti subdistrict, Sumberlawang district, Sragen.
The accident was the second to happen in Klaten.

A similar accident occurred last year when a train crashed into a family wagon at an unguarded grade crossing, killing nine of its passengers.

According to Eko Budiyanto, there are 518 grade crossings in his operational region.

Yet, only 113 of them were guarded.

"We plan to put all the grade crossings in order so as to control similar accidents from happening in the future."

He added data from his office showed that 10 accidents had been occurred this year in grade crossings in the region.

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