- Title: INDONESIA: Two trains crash in Pemalang killing and injured dozens of passengers
- Date: 3rd October 2010
- Summary: PEMALANG, CENTRAL JAVA PROVINCE, INDONESIA (OCTOBER 2, 2010) (REUTERS) TRAIN WRECKAGE AT PEMALANG RAILWAY STATION VARIOUS OF DAMAGED TRAIN ON RAILWAY VARIOUS OF EVACUATION OF DEAD BODY FROM WRECKAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) LOCAL RESIDENT, KURHADI, SAYING: "The train was hit from the rear when it was parking and the crash sound was very loud. This accident happened at about three o'clock in the morning. Residents surrounded the railway station directly and came to help the victims." MORGUE AT DR. M ASHARI HOSPITAL WHERE VICTIMS WERE CARRIED SIGN BOARD READINGS "MORGUE ROOM" ENTRANCE OF MORGUE ROOM VARIOUS OF INJURED VICTIMS IN HOSPITAL INJURED LEGS IN SPLINTS
- Embargoed: 18th October 2010 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Indonesia
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVAEE5FTQJNMJ85F21NXD34DL1W2
- Story Text: Dozens of people were killed or badly injured when two trains collided in Indonesia's Central Java province early on Saturday (October 2) morning.
Several carriages had overturned or were badly mangled. Rescue and transport ministry officials put the death toll at around 22 to 23 with many more injured, while local media said 36 people had been killed in the crash.
People surrounded the Petarukan railway station in Pemalang to help the rescue team and police.
"The train (economy class) was hit from the rear when parking and the crash sound was very loud. This accident was happened about three o'clock in the morning. And residents surround the railway station directly came to help them (victims)," said Kurhadi, a resident living nearby who, like many Indonesians, goes by one name.
The bodies of the dead were being placed at a local hospital to await identification.
The hospital wards were filled with injured survivors.
"I heard a loud voice then the carriage is lifted and the lights went out, I was bouncing and finally trapped in the carriage," said Santi, a survivor recalling her experience when the trains collided.
Indonesia needs to spend billions of dollars on improving its ageing infrastructure, including roads, power plants, railways, and airports.
Underinvestment in the years since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis has resulted in several accidents in the transport sector, and has hampered economic development, with the result that Indonesia's GDP growth is well below potential and lags that of China and India. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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