Trains collide on Indonesia’s main island of Java, killing at least 3 people

PTI, Jan 5, 2024, 8:47 AM IST

Representative image

Jakarta: Two trains collided on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Friday, causing several carriages to buckle and overturn and killing at least three people, officials said.

The accident happened about 500 metres (yards) from the Cicalengka train station in West Java’s Bandung city, said Ayep Hanapi, a spokesperson for PT Kereta Api Indonesia, the national railways.

He said a train travelling from Surabaya, the capital of East Java province, to Bandung hit a commuter train heading to Padalarang from the Cicalengka station.

At least three people were killed and several others injured, West Java Police spokesperson Ibrahim Tompo said.

Television video showed several carriages overturned or badly mangled and ambulances evacuating the injured. One carriage plunged into a nearby field.

The cause of the accident was being investigated.

Train accidents are common on Indonesia’s aging railroad network, especially at crossings.