Four Killed as Train Rams into Minivan in Demak

Demak, C Java (Antara) - Four passengers of a minivan were killed when a train rammed into it at a railroad crossing without a barricade in the Central Java provincial district of Demak on Thursday. The dead, all employees of a company marketing coffee and instant noodles, were identified as Triwibowo (driver), Putri Indah, Topik Noven Setiawan, and Jumiyati Nunik Suprihatini. Chief of the Demak police precinct, Adjunct Senior Commissioner R. Setijo Nugroho Harjo Hasta Putra, said that the accident occurred at around 2.00 p.m. western Indonesia standard time. According to R. Setijo, the mishap happened when the car with the license number L 1967 Suzuki APV PJ was on its way to the Semarang-Mranggen highway, via the unmanned railroad crossing. At the same time, the Maharani train was passing from the Semarang Poncol Railway Station side towards Surabaya (East Java). The car was dragged for about 500 meters after the collision, the police added. (*) Reporting by Akhmad Nazaruddin Lathif