14 killed, over 80 injured after 2 trains collide in Indonesia; rescue operations underway

A rescue operation was underway and efforts were being made to reach two people still trapped alive under the wreckage.

At least 14 people were killed and more than 80 injured after two trains collided near Jakarta overnight, Al Jazeera reported.

A rescue operation was underway and efforts were being made to reach two people still trapped alive under the wreckage of the trains outside the Indonesian capital, Anna Purba, a spokesperson for KAI rail company told the media in the early hours.

Franoto Wibowo, another spokesperson of the state-owned rail operator, said a taxi apparently clipped the commuter train on a level crossing, causing it to abruptly stop on the tracks, where it was hit by another train from behind.

Asep Edi Suheri, Jakarta’s police chief, said a long-distance train had crashed into the last women-only compartment of the commuter train.

All the victims — the dead and the injured — were from the commuter train, and all the 240 passengers on the other train were evacuated safely, said Purba.

However, the accudent caused “significant damage to several train carriages,” said the Jakarta search and rescue agency. The evacuation process is being carried out using “extrication equipment” to free the victims from “the wrecked train structures”, it added.

Following the crash, chaos unfolded at the accident site with rescue workers shouting for oxygen cylinders and ambulances queueing up with their lights flashing.

–with inputs from The Guardian

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At least 14 people were killed and more than 80 injured after two trains collided near Jakarta overnight, Al Jazeera reported.

A rescue operation was underway and efforts were being made to reach two people still trapped alive under the wreckage of the trains outside the Indonesian capital, Anna Purba, a spokesperson for KAI rail company told the media in the early hours.

Franoto Wibowo, another spokesperson of the state-owned rail operator, said a taxi apparently clipped the commuter train on a level crossing, causing it to abruptly stop on the tracks, where it was hit by another train from behind.

Asep Edi Suheri, Jakarta’s police chief, said a long-distance train had crashed into the last women-only compartment of the commuter train.

All the victims — the dead and the injured — were from the commuter train, and all the 240 passengers on the other train were evacuated safely, said Purba.

However, the accudent caused “significant damage to several train carriages,” said the Jakarta search and rescue agency. The evacuation process is being carried out using “extrication equipment” to free the victims from “the wrecked train structures”, it added.

Following the crash, chaos unfolded at the accident site with rescue workers shouting for oxygen cylinders and ambulances queueing up with their lights flashing.

–with inputs from The Guardian