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View all search resultsProbe underway for Bekasi train crash as another accident raises safety concerns
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People take part in a flower-strewing ceremony on April 30 to pray for the victims of a train collision, at Bekasi Timur Station in Bekasi, West Java. (AFP/Rezas)
T
he Jakarta Police have escalated their handling of last week’s fatal train collision at Bekasi Timur Station in West Java, moving from a preliminary inquiry to a full investigation amid renewed scrutiny over railway crossing safety following another deadly crash in Central Java.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Budi Hermanto said the force’s general crimes directorate is now conducting a formal investigation into the April 27 crash involving a long-distance intercity train and a commuter train, which killed 16 people, all of whom are women, and injured 90 others.
“Our investigators have questioned 31 people, including the complainant, a taxi driver, a traffic guard, witnesses at the scene, victims, [state-owned railway operator] PT KAI operational officers and other parties with direct knowledge of the incident,” Budi said in a statement on Sunday, as quoted from Antara.
The deadly crash was triggered by an earlier incident involving a commuter train traveling from Cikarang, West Java, to Bekasi, which struck a stalled electric taxi at an unguarded level crossing near Bekasi Timur Station. The taxi driver reportedly managed to escape unharmed.
The collision forced another commuter train on a separate track bound for Cikarang to come to a halt. Around 30 minutes later, an Argo Bromo Anggrek intercity train en route from Jakarta to Surabaya, East Java, crashed into the stationary commuter train, hitting its rear carriage designated only for female passengers.
Budi said investigators have gathered evidence from the scene, reviewed CCTV footage and were waiting for results of post-mortem examinations from hospitals performing autopsies on the victims.
Read also: Train accidents mount as crossings left unchecked
