Jakarta: A passenger train hit mounds of mud triggered by a landslide and derailed in central Indonesia, killing at least three people and injuring seven, an official said on Saturday.
A landslide following torrential rains buried part of the tracks at a dark junction during a heavy downpour and the train`s brakes could not stop it from hitting the mud.
The train derailed late yesterday in Tasikmalaya, a district on Java island, killing two men and a female train attendant, said Junerfin, a spokesman for the Indonesian Railway Company who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
Seven others were hospitalised, including two in critical condition, he said.
Three coaches fell into a 10-metre-deep ravine, sending hundreds of panicked passengers running away. Rescuers pulled out the three bodies pinned under the wreckage, Junerfin said.
Train accidents are common in Indonesia`s ageing railway network and poor infrastructure.
