A life of service: Officers remove the body of Akbar Felani, assistant driver of the Pakuan Express, in Tanah Sareal, Bogor, on Tuesday. Akbar died when the speeding train hit economy train No. 549, injuring 64 people. JP/Ricky Yudhistira
A speeding KA 221 Pakuan Express electric train heading to Jakarta from Bogor rear-ended a stalled KA 549 economy-class train in Bubulak Kampung, Tanah Sareal, Bogor, on Tuesday, killing one person and injuring 64 others.
A joint team of rescuers from the Bogor Fire Department and police spent four hours recovering the body of assistant driver Akbar Felani and driver Ojas from the mangled train car.
Akbar died at the scene, while Ojas sustained severe injuries.
The team also took 64 injured passengers to nearby hospitals. Forty were taken to the Salak Hospital, while three were taken to the Karya Bhakti Hospital and the rest to the Bogor PMI Hospital.
Sugeng, spokesman for the Bogor branch of state railway operator PT Kereta Api (KA), said the accident occurred at 10:30 a.m. at the Kilometer 52 mark.
“The economy-class train was parked on the rails, from engine failure, when the Pakuan Express train hit it,” he said.
“There was supposed to be a signal sent to both trains, but the accident happened anyway and we don’t know why.”
Bogor Police chief Sr. Comr. Agung Sabar also said his office had yet to pinpoint the cause of the crash.
“We’re still gathering information from eyewitnesses,” he said.
KA secretary Makmur Syaheran said the operator would investigate whether the regular train had really been parked due to engine problems, and whether the train driver fully understood the steps that needed to be done in such a case.
Standard operating procedures dictate the driver of a train experiencing engine problems should send out a signal to warn other drivers of a stalled train on the tracks.
“We’ll check whether the driver of the economy-class train actually sent the signal,” Makmur said.
Endang Setiawati, a passenger on the Express train, who was on her way to collect her husband’s annual pension, said the train ride had started peacefully at around 10 a.m.
“My 12-year-old grandson Alvin and I boarded the air-conditioned train,” she said.
“The ride was calm and uneventful. Suddenly, when we were passing through the Kebon Pedes area, there was this huge crashing sound.
“People were flung in all directions, and then we started scrambling for the doors,” Endang
went on.
“I was confused, I’d gotten separated from Alvin. But finally another passenger managed to bring me out.”
Marini, the mother of assistant train driver Akbar, wept when identifying her son’s body at the Bogor PMI Hospital.
“He was a good boy and he was devout,” she said in tears.
“He was also funny and cheerful. Just yesterday, our family was eating dinner together and he was saying he and his workmates would hold a celebration after becoming KAI employees.”
The accident caused a one-hour delay in train schedules, but no departures were canceled.
There was supposed to be a signal sent to both trains, but the accident happened anyway and we don’t know why.
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