leven people were killed and at least four others suffered heavy injuries after a passenger train hit a minibus at an unguarded level crossing in Lumajang regency, East Java, on Sunday evening.
The Probowangi train was carrying passengers from Banyuwangi to Surabaya when it hit the minibus in Ranu Pakis village in Klakah district at 7:53 p.m.
The train dragged the vehicle for about 50 meters before finally stopping.
Lumajang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Boy Jeckson Situmorang said none of the train’s passengers were injured. Ten of the victims were reported to have died on the scene
Boy said the injured were immediately taken to a local health center.
Anwar Yuli Prastyo, a spokesman for the local office of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), said the train stopped for 13 minutes after the incident.
“The train was stopped for inspection. After it was deemed safe, the train continued its journey,” Anwar said.
Last month in Kulon Progo, Yogyakarta, passenger train Argo Wilis collided on a bend with the derailed Argo Semeru train, which jumped the tracks as a result of subsidence on the rail. The accident caused extensive delays to train schedules.
In July, a KAI train driver safely escaped from a burning passenger train, minutes after the train he was operating crashed into a flatbed truck in Semarang, Central Java.
The flatbed truck stalled on the train tracks as it was going over the railway crossing on Jl. Madukoro in Semarang. A Brantas train crashed into the truck at a high speed and dragged it several meters forward to the nearby Kokrosono railway bridge above the Semarang West Flood Canal.
In 2015, a collision between a commuter train and a minibus at a railroad crossing in Jakarta killed 16 people.
In 2013, seven people were killed and scores more injured when a commuter train collided with a fuel tanker at a crossing in Jakarta and burst into flames.
Rail remains a popular form of transportation on Java. According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), 272,419 passengers used train services on the island last year, up from 147,521 from the year before, which saw significantly decreased ridership as a result of the pandemic. From January to September of this year, 233,738 people have used passenger train services on the island. (dre)
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