BEKASI: The death toll from a train collision just outside Jakarta rose to seven on Tuesday, and 81 people were injured as rescuers worked to extract survivors trapped in mangled carriages, officials said.
The collision between a commuter train and a long‑distance service occurred late on Monday in Bekasi. Mohammad Syafii, head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said at an early‑morning press briefing that rescuers faced a delicate operation to free people still inside damaged compartments.
Rescue teams were seen using angle grinders to cut through metal to reach survivors, Syafii said. Bobby Rasyidin, chief executive of state‑owned PT KAI, confirmed the seven fatalities and said the commuter train struck a taxi that had been on the tracks, and the oncoming long‑distance train then hit a women‑only carriage on the commuter service.
Green SM Indonesia, the local arm of Vietnamese electric‑vehicle taxi operator Green and Smart Mobility JSC, said on Instagram the taxi involved belonged to the company and that it had provided information to authorities to assist the investigation.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has opened an inquiry into the crash. Authorities did not immediately provide further details on the cause of the collision or on the condition of those injured.
