JAKARTA: Nine people were killed after a train collided with a minibus on Wednesday (Jan 21) at an unguarded railway crossing in Tebing Tinggi, North Sumatra, underscoring persistent lapses in railway safety enforcement nationwide.
According to authorities, the accident occurred at around 6:30pm when a Toyota Avanza carrying nine people attempted to cross an unguarded railway intersection on Jalan Abdul Hamid in Tebing Tinggi.
At the same time, the Sri Bilah Utama passenger train was travelling at high speed from Rantau Prapat to Medan. The train struck the left side of the minibus and dragged it approximately 300m, causing severe damage to the vehicle.
Eight passengers were killed at the scene, while the driver was rushed to hospital in critical condition, said Second Insp. Heru Wibowo, head of traffic enforcement at Tebing Tinggi police.
“The victims were thrown from the vehicle due to the force of the impact when the train struck the minibus. All the deceased and injured have been evacuated to Bhayangkara Hospital in Tebing Tinggi,” Heru said on Wednesday night.
The driver, identified as 42-year-old Abdul Qadir Al Jaelani, later died on Thursday after receiving intensive medical treatment, bringing the death toll to nine.
Police said preliminary investigations showed all passengers in the minibus were members of the same family from Deli Serdang regency, about 88km from Tebing Tinggi. The family had been travelling to Batubara regency for a family event and later went to Tebing Tinggi to visit a sick relative before heading back to Deli Serdang.
Authorities are continuing to conduct a crime scene examination, securing evidence and questioning witnesses to determine the cause of the accident. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
