Train collision near Jakarta kills 14

JAKARTA (AFP) — A long-distance train crashed into a stationary commuter train near Bekasi Timur station east of Jakarta on Monday night, killing 14 people and injuring dozens, authorities said Tuesday.

Rescue crews spent nearly 12 hours prying open mangled carriages before ending their search, officials said. Mohammad Syafii, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said, “I am certain there are no more victims to be found.”

Sausan Sarifah, 29, a survivor hospitalized with a broken arm and a deep thigh cut, described the chaos. “It all happened so fast, in a split second. There were two announcements from the commuter train. Everyone was ready to get off, and then suddenly there was the sound of the locomotive, really loud. There was no time to get out, and everyone ended up piled up inside the train, crushed on top of one another,” she said.

State-owned operator KAI said 84 people needed medical treatment, though it did not specify how many remained hospitalized.

A KAI spokesperson, Franoto Wibowo, said a taxi may have clipped the commuter train at a level crossing, leaving it stranded on the tracks. The long-distance train hit the last, women-only carriage, he said.

President Prabowo Subianto visited injured passengers, offered condolences to the families of the dead, and ordered an “immediate investigation.” He also called for improvements to level crossings in Bekasi, saying, “I have ordered that we immediately repair all these crossings, either by guard posts or by flyovers.”

The collision caused “significant damage to several train carriages,” the Jakarta search and rescue agency said. All passengers on the other train were evacuated safely, KAI said.

Transport accidents are common in Indonesia, where many vehicles are aging. Previous major train crashes killed several people in West Java in January 2024 and in Jakarta in 2015.