As many as 16 people were killed after a bus crashed on Indonesia's main island of Java during the wee hours on Monday. The bus was ferrying 34 people.
The inter-province bus was on its way from the capital Jakarta to the country's ancient royal city of Yogyakarta, when it overturned while entering a curved exit ramp at the Krapyak toll way in Central Java's Semarang city, said Budiono, a search and rescue agency chief.
Police and rescue teams arrived about 40 minutes after the accident and recovered the bodies of six passengers who died at the scene. Another 10 people died on the way to a hospital or while being treated. Among the 18 victims being treated at two nearby hospitals, five people were in critical condition and 13 in a serious condition.
News reports showed the yellow bus overturned on its side and surrounded by National Search and Rescue Agency personnel, police and passersby as ambulances transported victims and the dead away from the accident scene.
Witnesses told authorities the bus was travelling at high speed before the driver lost control, Central Java Police Chief Ribut Hari Wibowo said at Dr Karyadi General Hospital in Semarang where the bodies were being identified.
The driver was a substitute who sustained serious injuries, but was able to communicate while under medical care.
“We are investigating the cause of the crash and questioning the injured driver,” Wibowo said.
Follow us
