12 killed in Lembang bus crash

12 killed in Lembang bus crash

BANDUNG (JP): A speeding bus crashed into a pine tree at the
foot of Tangkuban Perahu volcano in Lembang, West Java, on
Sunday, killing 12 of its passengers.

The bus, carrying 31 students of the Mentuwariway Nurse
Academy of Manado, North Sulawesi, and their colleagues from the
Bandung-based Padjadjaran Nurse Academy, was on its way to
Bandung from the hilly tourist resort, which is 60 kilometers
away.

Medical staff at Hasan Sadikin State Hospital here identified
the fatalities as Anak Agung P.S. Mandani, Roslani Anam, Yoas Dt.
Amas, Yowin Muhammad, Meripa Lengkeng, Imelda T.M. Sutianan,
Sediawati Atang, Rosmin Rayusam, Moh. Sangko, Jeanette and
Jumelin, who were all visiting students. The other casualty was
Tolibin, who was accompanying the guests during the tour.

The other students and the bus driver, Yudi, were injured.

Chief of Lembang Police, First Lt. Edi Santoso, told The
Jakarta Post that the accident took place at about 1 p.m., just
two kilometers away from the tourist resort.

The ill-fated bus was one of two vehicles taking the student
group on the trip. It smashed into the tree on the left side of
Jl. Raya Cikole-Lembang and rolled several times before landing
upside down in a ditch.

West Java Police chief for traffic control Col. Anang Y.S.
told the Post that he suspected the brakes of the bus had failed
while it was going downhill, judging from the 50-meter-long skid
marks on the winding road leading to the scene of the accident.

The visiting students, all in their early 20s, were slated to
begin a one-month internship at the Hasan Sadikin Hospital
starting on Monday.

The bodies will be flown back to Manado on Monday.(25/bby)