Commuter Train Collision in Indonesia Kills 3, Injures 28

People stand at the site of a train collision between the local Bandung Raya train and the Turangga train in Cicalengka, Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, January 5, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Raisan Al Farisi/via REUTERS
People stand at the site of a train collision between the local Bandung Raya train and the Turangga train in Cicalengka, Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, January 5, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Raisan Al Farisi/via REUTERS
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Commuter Train Collision in Indonesia Kills 3, Injures 28

People stand at the site of a train collision between the local Bandung Raya train and the Turangga train in Cicalengka, Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, January 5, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Raisan Al Farisi/via REUTERS
People stand at the site of a train collision between the local Bandung Raya train and the Turangga train in Cicalengka, Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, January 5, 2024, in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Raisan Al Farisi/via REUTERS

Rescuers were battling on Friday to extricate two people trapped between railway cars after commuter trains collided on Indonesia’s main island of Java, killing at least three and injuring 28, authorities said.

Video images from broadcasters MetroTV and Kompas TV showed passengers being helped out of train carriages, some of which had gone off the rails entirely.

Rescuers were weighing options to save the two people found squeezed between cars, said Herry Marantika, the head of a rescue agency, but declined to say if they were still alive.

Ambulances gathered to take the injured to hospital, police said, following the collision at 6:03 a.m. (1103 GMT) near the provincial capital of Bandung.

The three dead were train crew, said Ibrahim Tompo, a regional spokesperson of West Java police, adding that a total of 478 passengers were aboard the trains, with the 28 injured taken to hospital.

Transportation ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati apologized for the accident and for the disruption of railway services in the West Java region.

She said the cause of the accident was being investigated.

The government has spent billions of dollars on improving infrastructure, including roads, railways, airports and power plants, in the world’s largest archipelago nation, home to more than 270 million people.



Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Invited to Trump's Inauguration

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro talks with media upon his arrival at Brasilia International Airport, in Brasilia, Brazil November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro talks with media upon his arrival at Brasilia International Airport, in Brasilia, Brazil November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
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Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro Invited to Trump's Inauguration

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro talks with media upon his arrival at Brasilia International Airport, in Brasilia, Brazil November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo
Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro talks with media upon his arrival at Brasilia International Airport, in Brasilia, Brazil November 25, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been invited to the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 and is seeking to obtain the return of his passport, confiscated last year amid a probe into an attempted coup in 2023.

Bolsonaro has been barred from running for political office in Brazil until 2030 and faces criminal charges for allegedly plotting a coup. He denies any wrongdoing.

His passport was retained in February 2024 on the order of a Brazilian Supreme Court judge.

The invitation was confirmed by Bolsonaro on his X account and by his advisor, Fabio Wajngarten, who told Reuters that the former president is willing to go.

On his X account, Bolsonaro expressed his "honor at receiving the invitation". He also said that his lawyer, Paulo Bueno, has already requested Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes release his passport for the trip.

Trump's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.