A fatal train collision occurred outside Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, late on Monday, killing at least 14 people, the state-owned KAI rail company said on Tuesday.

It added that another 84 people received hospital treatment.

What do we know about the crash?

A long-distance train crashed into the rear car of a stopped commuter train at Bekasi Timur Station outside Jakarta. The car was designated for women only, a common measure taken to prevent harassment.

According to Anne Purba, a spokeswoman for the KAI, all of the victims were on the commuter train.

Officials said that all 240 passengers on the Argo Bromo Anggrek long-distance train were evacuated safely.

Rescue operation continues

The Jakarta search and rescue agency said in a statement that the collision caused ‘significant damage to several train carriages’.

It added that several people were trapped in the carriages due to the force of the impact. Rescuers were working to reach them but most had been freed by Tuesday morning.

Mohammad Syafii, the head of Indonesia’s search and ​rescue agency, told reporters that it was a delicate process to rescue survivors from the mangled carriages.

“We ​needed to involve personnel with certain skills to perform a measured extrication,” he said. “There are ​some victims who ‌are alive to this minute and we’re hoping to extricate them, but they’re still pinned by the train material.”

Rescuers have disengaged the trains, a Reuters witness said.

Jakarta Police Chief Asep Edi Suheri told reporters at the scene that police were investigating the cause of the accident.

Accidents are common on Indonesia’s aging railroad network. In January 2024, two trains collided in West Java, killing at least four people.

DW