Army vehicle rams minibus, kills 18<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto and Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta\/Purwokerto<\/p>\n
An armored military vehicle crashed into a public transportation
\nminibus on Saturday in Temanggung regency in Central Java,
\nkilling 18 people and injuring seven others.<\/p>\n
Sixteen of the fatalities were passengers on the minibus and
\nthe driver, and the two others were military personnel.<\/p>\n
The accident occurred when three armored vehicles, belonging
\nto the Army's Ambarawa Cavalry Division in Ambarawa, were
\nreturning in convoy from military exercises in Kebumen, another
\nregency in Central Java. One of the Army vehicles apparently
\ntried to overtake a car but it hit the minibus head on as it was
\ncoming in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n
The minibus was knocked into a four-meter-deep ravine,
\nfollowed by the errant Army vehicle.<\/p>\n
The chief of Temanggung police precinct, Adj. Sr. Comr.
\nWidiyatno, said that the vehicle, which was made in France in
\n1963, had crossed over the center line on the two-lane highway.<\/p>\n
"It could be seen from its skid marks," he said.<\/p>\n
The two military personnel killed were Chief Corp. Monte as
\nwell as Yurman, a civil servant working as a technician in the
\nCavalry Division.<\/p>\n
All the injured victims, three more military personnel and
\nfour minibus passengers, were rushed to Sujono military hospital
\nin Magelang.<\/p>\n
Brig. Gen. Salim Mengga, the Chief of Staff of the Diponegoro
\nMilitary Command overseeing Central Java province, confirmed the
\nincident, but defended the Army driver, saying he did not violate
\nany procedures. He added that the armored carrier, with six
\npersonnel aboard, was probably only traveling at approximately 20
\nkilometers per hour.<\/p>\n
"Another vehicle in the convoy passed first and flashed his
\nlights at the minibus driver to signal that there was another
\nvehicle coming, but the accident still occurred," he said.<\/p>\n
The deadly accident was the second of its kind in the past two
\nmonths. In November, an armored personnel carrier overturned
\nafter its brakes apparently failed near Sulambe Baru village in
\nAceh Singkil regency, killing a television cameraman, Arie Waylan
\nOrah, while five military personnel and another journalist were
\nwounded.<\/p>",
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