ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Already beset by a ballooning budget and missed deadlines, the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway project suffers another roadblock as a work train involved with the project careened off the railway, killing two foreign technical workers and injuring several others on Sunday evening.
PT Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) corporate secretary Rahadian Ratry confirmed that the incident occurred around 5pm on Sunday in Cempaka Mekar village, Padalarang, West Bandung regency, West Java.
“KCIC has been coordinating with relevant parties in dealing with the incident, and we’ve been cooperating with the authorities’ investigation into the matter,” Rahadian said on Monday.
Formed as a joint venture between a consortium of state-owned enterprises and several Chinese-railroad companies, KCIC is overseeing the construction of the high-speed railway.
“From the latest report, there’s been a total of six victims so far. They include two casualties, two persons who were seriously injured and two others suffering from minor wounds,” said Transportation Ministry spokesman Adita Irawati.
While the ministry did not specify the identities of the victims, Padalarang Police Chief Commissioner Darwan Hasan said the two casualties were Chinese nationals who had been working on the project.
