Emergency responders continue working around the clock to rescue survivors trapped in twisted metal following a devastating train collision near Jakarta, Indonesia that has now claimed seven lives and left 81 people injured.
The tragic accident occurred Monday evening in Bekasi, located on the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital, when a commuter train and long-distance passenger train collided. Mohammad Syafii, who leads Indonesia’s search and rescue operations, explained during a Tuesday morning news briefing that extracting survivors requires extreme precision due to the dangerous conditions.
“We needed to involve personnel with certain skills to perform a measured extrication,” Syafii stated. “There are some victims who are alive to this minute and we’re hoping to extricate them, but they’re still pinned by the train material.”
Emergency teams have been observed using specialized cutting tools, including angle grinders, to slice through the damaged train cars in their efforts to reach those still trapped inside.
Bobby Rasyidin, who serves as chief executive of the government-owned railway company PT KAI, confirmed the updated fatality count of seven during the press briefing. According to Rasyidin’s account, the sequence of events began when the commuter train struck a taxi that had somehow ended up on the railway tracks, followed by the long-distance train slamming into a women-only car of the commuter train.
The taxi company involved, Green SM Indonesia, acknowledged through social media that the vehicle belonged to their fleet. The company, which operates as the Indonesian division of Vietnamese electric vehicle service Green and Smart Mobility JSC under the Vingroup umbrella, announced they have provided information to investigators to help with the ongoing probe.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee has launched a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash.
Railway accidents occur with concerning frequency throughout Indonesia. Just last year, another train collision in West Java province resulted in four deaths and dozens of injuries.
