26 killed in fiery bus accident in C. Java

KENDAL, Central Java (JP): At least 26 people were killed here on Monday morning when their intercity bus burst into flames after it rammed into a house storing drums of kerosene.

The remains of the victims were so badly charred that only a few could be identified.

Kendal Police traffic unit chief Lt. Taslim said the bus was carrying 54 passengers. Of the 26 fatalities, only 11 have been identified thus far.

The accident occurred at around 6 a.m. in Tlahab village, Cemuh district, in Kendal, about 30 kilometers away from the Central Java provincial capital of Semarang.

Police and witnesses said the Giri Indah bus plying the Jakarta - Wonogiri route was traveling at high speed at the time of the accident.

At one stretch of the road the bus, license plate number AD2594 BG, tried to overtake another vehicle when a motorcycle suddenly appeared in the opposite direction.

The bus driver immediately flung the steering wheel to one side and hit four roadside houses, one of which stored kerosene, resulting in a fire that quickly consumed the bus. Passengers panicked and struggled with each other to escape through the windows.

"At such high speed the driver lost control of the bus and crashed into four houses ... The explosion was unavoidable once the bus hit the gasoline kiosk," Taslim said.

Police are now searching for the whereabouts of the bus driver, Harto, 34, who has fled the scene.

Passengers and witnesses told of their terror just moments after the crash:

"Passengers tried to get out as the flames burned. Many were trapped and stepped on by others. It was horrible," 36-year-old Juremi, a local resident who rushed to help as soon as he saw the accident, said.

Once survivor named Suharno, 30, could only shed tears as he could not save his mother and friend from the blaze.

"I tried to save them, but the fire was already too big," he said. "We had just visited Jakarta to pay our respects to a relative," he said of the reason for their travel. (har/edt)