Asia-Pacific

Indonesian train crash kills at least 33 people

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-10-02 10:25

JAKARTA - At least 33 people have been killed and several injured in a train crash in Indonesia's central Java, local news service Antara reported on Saturday.

The two passenger trains collided in the early morning near Pemalang, on the north coast of central Java, the transport ministry said.

"I can't give you the number of dead, but we are sending a team to the site," said J.A. Barata, a spokesman for the ministry. Indonesia needs to spend billions of dollars on improving its ageing infrastructure, including roads, power plants, railways, and airports.

Underinvestment in the years since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis has hampered economic development, with the result that Indonesia's GDP growth is well below potential and lags that of China and India.