The Jakarta Post, January 17, 2007
Five killed as overloaded carriage derails
At least five people were killed and more than 200 were injured when an overcrowded
carriage on a Central Java passenger train jumped the tracks and plunged off a bridge
into a dry riverbed early Tuesday.
The accident, which occurred just after midnight near Banyumas city, involved an
economy-class train serving the Surakarta-Jakarta route, police and hospital officials
said.
Survivors said the 12-car Bengawan train was overcrowded and many passengers
were left standing in the aisles and crouching in the spaces between carriages.
"At the time of the accident, I was asleep under the seat of another passenger
because the train was overcrowded and lots of people were standing. All of a sudden
the (fourth) car, which I was in, lost power. Later the car somehow became
uncoupled. People started screaming in fear," said Sri Lestari, a 16-year-old student
who was in the car that plunged into the riverbed.
Police said the train was passing over a bridge spanning the Pager river near
Rancamaya village in Cilongok district when the accident occurred.
Railway officials said the car had a maximum capacity of 106 passengers. However,
they also said economy class trains were officially "allowed" to exceed the maximum
passenger numbers during peak traveling times.
"We allow up to 50 percent more passengers than the maximum capacity on
economy-class trains. That's normal during every Idul Fitri holiday season," Soemino,
the director-general of state railway company PT KAI, said.
He could not say what caused the accident. "We are still investigating."
Rail traffic on the line to Jakarta from Yogyakarta was disrupted by accident. --
JP/Agus Maryono and Suherdjoko
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