12 injured in bus accident

TABANAN, Bali: Twelve people were injured, five of them seriously, after an intercity Dahlia bus drove into a 10-meter ravine 20 kilometers west of Denpasar yesterday, police said.

Tabanan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Alit Widana said the injured passengers were being treated at the Tabanan Hospital and five had undergone surgery. Other passengers suffered minor cuts and bruises and were sent home, he said.

The bus, traveling from Jember in East Java to Denpasar, fell into the ravine after its breaks failed, Alit said.

Passengers told police the driver, 56-year-old Basiman, had driven the bus carelessly throughout the trip, he said. -- JP