51 people dead as truck totals bus from Bali

ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

At least 51 people, including 48 high school students from Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, were killed as their bus collided with a trailer truck and a minivan on Wednesday night in Situbondo regency, East Java.

The grisly traffic accident took place at around 7:30 p.m. in the area of Banyu Glugur that borders between Situbondo and the neighboring regency of Probolinggo, near the Paiton geothermal power plant compound.

Police in Banyu Glugur subdistrict said most of the victims burned to death inside the ill-fated bus PO Transport that was traveling from Bali to Yogyakarta.

"The bus was heading home from Denpasar," a police officer who declined to be named told The Jakarta Post hours after the fatal accident.

The driver of the bus, named as Armando, and his assistant, Budi, reportedly survived the crash. However, they were severely injured.

Budi is being treated at the Situbondo Hospital with serious burn wounds. However, he was still able to speak.

The police said they were evacuating the bodies from the wreckage of the bus to nearby hospitals. The exact number of the injured in the accident was not immediately clear and could rise.

Radio Elshinta reported that the crash occurred as the bus was rammed by a trailer truck that apparently lost power and brakes up a steep hill and was rolling backward uncontrollably when it made impact with the bus.

At the same time, a minivan loaded with fruits hit the bus from behind, it said, quoting local residents.

The dead victims were mostly young girls from Yappenda Merba high school in Sleman. They left Yogyakarta on Sunday for a study tour in Bali.

The crash was the worst to take place in Indonesia this year.

On June 6, 10 people were burned to death, four others suffered serious injuries while two others suffered minor injuries when a Langsung Jaya bus burst into flames in Brebes, Central Java.

The bus, carrying about 40 passengers from Cimone bus terminal in Tangerang heading to Surakarta, Central Java, caught fire when passing Jl. Diponegoro in front of the Brebes regent office.

Fatal bus accidents this year

Date Place no. of deaths

Feb. 1 Cirebon, W. Java 2 June 6 Brebes, C. Java 10 June 16 Sragen, C. Java 15 June 20 Purbalingga, C. Java 11 Sept. 29 Bandung, W. Java 4