Five dead as Indonesian train derails

A landslide triggered by heavy rain has derailed a train as it travelled through Indonesia's main island of Java, leaving five people dead.

There were about 250 passengers on the train as it travelled from the city of Bandung in the west of Java to Malang in the east on Friday.

The land slipped away from under the tracks as the train was passing through the city of Tasikmalaya at 6.30pm, national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said.

Three of the train's eight carriages derailed and five people were killed, he said.

"Three bodies have been evacuated and the two other bodies remain trapped. We are in the process of evacuating them," he said.

The other people on board the train were transferred to other forms of transport, said Nugroho. He did not have information on whether anyone else was injured.

Train accidents are common on Indonesia's ageing and poorly maintained railroad network. Landslides and floods occur frequently during the archipelago's six-month rainy season.