The Jakarta Globe, 17 August 2015
Jember/Bekasi. Eight people died in two separate train accidents in East and West Java on Sunday, highlighting once again the lack of adequate safety standards at railroad crossings across the island.
The first accident occurred in Jember, East Java, on Sunday morning, when a train traveling from Surabaya to Banyuwangi plowed into a car at a level crossing in Jember. Five of the seven people in the car, all members of the same family, died on impact, according to local police.
The two survivors, both children, sustained severe injuries and are being treated at a local hospital.
Witnesses said the driver of the car ignored a railway crossing guard’s instruction not to cross as the train was approaching. A siren signaling an oncoming train was also ringing, but there was no boom gate at that particular crossing.
In the second incident, in Bekasi, on the eastern outskirts of Jakarta, three children died after being run over by a train as they were playing on the tracks on Sunday afternoon.
Because of the extent of their injuries, police have been unable to identify the boys, two of whom are believed to be 10 years old and the third 12. They were struck by a train bound for Yogyakarta. Police are appealing to anyone who may have information about the boys’ identities to come forward.
Accidents at railway crossings are common throughout Indonesia, in large part because of the lack of safety standards such as boom gates and crossing guards.
In Jakarta alone there are 549 crossings, nearly 200 of which were built illegally by residents and thus do not have a boom gate. Of the remainder, only 186 are manned by crossing guards.
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