Nine people were killed, police said, when a train smashed into an amusement ride for kids at a gate-less railway crossing this morning in Serang, Banten.
An odong-odong, which is a colorful open-top minibus modified to seat around a dozen small children and is commonly found on the road in low-income areas, was carrying 20 passengers when tragedy struck.
“[The odong-odong] was traveling from Walantata towards Kragilan and it was driving through a gate-less railway crossing. Then the accident happened between the train and the odong-odong. Nine people were killed,” Serang Traffic Police Chief Tiwi Afrina said.
“With 20 passengers, the odong-odong surely exceeded its maximum capacity.”
Police confirmed that three children and six women were killed in the accident. The survivors, many of whom were wounded, are being treated at a nearby hospital.
Police said the odong-odong driver survived relatively unscathed. He has been apprehended for questioning.
Gate-less or otherwise, railway crossings are a common scene of tragic accidents in Indonesia. Poor railway infrastructure and drivers willfully neglecting safety precautions are the main causes of railway crossing collisions.
