TEMPO.CO, Blitar - Matarmaja train hit public minivan (angkot) on Bangkuang street, Sukorejo, Blitar, East Java on Saturday (22/10). Four passengers of the public minivan died in the accident. “When the public minivan was on the track, Matarmaja train with route Jakarta to Malang suddenly appeared,” Sukorejo Police Chief Commissioner Agus Fauzi said.
Agus mentioned that the public minivan was dragged 25 meters down and was on fire. The driver, Slamet (66) died along with three passengers. The other two passengers escaped death after jumping out of the minivan right before it got hit by the train.
The killed casualties are Paini (63) from Wungu street, Asiyah (65) from Jeruk street. Both killed on the spot, while Sumarsih (65) from Sonokeling street died in the hospital.
Agus further added that the grade crossing does not have any gate or other traffic signs. He predicted that the accident is caused by the driver paying no attention to his surrounding. In addition, the location is not the main road but an alternative road that is only used by the local people. "It is not a main road but a byway. That particular road ascends and results in lack of vision of the driver which causes the accident," He claimed.
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