TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
KAI apologizes for fatal Central Java train wrecks
Railway talks: State-run railway company PT Kereta Api president director Ignasius Jonan (right) walks with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar before a closed meeting in Jakarta on Monday
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
R
span class="caption" style="width: 398px;">Railway talks: State-run railway company PT Kereta Api president director Ignasius Jonan (right) walks with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar before a closed meeting in Jakarta on Monday. The meeting was held to discuss the recent accidents on the Jakarta-Surabaya and Jakarta-Semarang railway lines. JP/P.J. Leo
State railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) publicly apologized on Monday to the families of the victims of two separate fatal train crashes that took place last weekend in Central Java.
KAI human resources and general director Joko Margono said he expressed concern, condolences and apologies on behalf of the government for the accidents, which claimed 35 lives and injured more than 40.
In the most deadly of the accidents, the Argo Bromo, a seven-carriage train carrying 336 passengers, collided with the Senja Utama, which had stopped at the Petarukan station near Pemalang.
The crash flipped the Senja Utama’s second- and third-to-last carriages upside down, killing 34 of its 663 passengers and injuring 36.
The second accident involved a Gaya Baru night train, which rammed into a Bima express train in Surakarta, Central Java. One person was killed and four injured in the accident, which occurred about one hour after the Pemalang incident.
Joko, who visited the injured at Kariadi Hospital in Semarang, Central Java, said KAI would cover not only the medical but also the rehabilitation costs of those injured in the accidents.
“We will also provide compensation for the injuries or deaths of [passengers without tickets]. We consider anyone onboard those trains as passengers, regardless of their legality,” Joko said.
Twelve people at Kariadi Hospital suffered multiple traumas in the accident and would require extensive treatment, according to doctors.
Kariadi Hospital medical director Bambang Sudarmonto said the injuries were not only physical but also psychological.
“The victims have multiple injuries, meaning that the injuries are not located in one place. Some have fractures of the femur, cranium and hands, while some have lacerations to their chests,” Bambang said.
The medical team had to assess the victims’ injuries and trauma levels before it could determine how long the victims should be treated at the hospital, he added.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said in Jakarta on Monday that the government was committed to compensating victims and the families of those who died in the accidents.
“The two insurance companies designated to manage the compensation are Jasindo and Jasa Raharja.
We have decided that the families of the dead or disabled victims may receive up to Rp 65 million [US$7,280],” Mustafa said.
Jasa Raharja spokesperson Dedi Sudrajat told The Jakarta Post that the company started distributing compensation to victims on Monday.
He said that the company would pay Rp 25 million to the family of those killed in the accident and Rp 10 million to those who were disabled.
“Compensation amounts are based on regulations set by the government,” Dedi said, adding that the company was still calculating how much was needed to cover the costs of those injured in the accidents.
Jasa Raharja president director Diding S. Anwar previously said that Rp 1.3 billion would be needed for compensation.
