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.



Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.