Budi, latest victim in Situbondo tragedy
Budi, latest victim in Situbondo tragedy
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
Budi, the conductor of the ill-fated bus AO Transport, finally
died on Monday afternoon due to severe burns, bringing the number
of victims in a grisly traffic accident recently in Situbondo to
55.
Separately, Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar said human
error was the cause of the accident in Situbondo.
Indro Suseno, the spokesman of the bus company, said that the
Budi had been struggling to survive his injuries since Wednesday
night, when the accident occurred in the area of Banyu Glugur in
Situbondo, East Java.
He was treated at the Situbondo General Hospital, but two days
later he was transferred to Dr. Soetomo Hospital in the East Java
capital of Surabaya which has better facilities.
"But, Budi finally passed away at 4 p.m on Monday due to his
severe burns," Indro told reporters in Yogyakarta.
Budi would be buried in his hometown in Ngawen subdistrict in
Gunungkidul, Central Java, he said.
Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Agum Gumelar told
reporters here that the accident was caused by recklessness on
the part of the driver, particularly the driver of the trailer
truck.
A preliminary investigation, held by the National Committee on
Transportation Safety, showed that both truck and bus were in
good condition, he said.
"It can then be easily concluded that the cause of the
accident had to be the negligence of the driver," said Agum,
after handed over a donation to the victims of the accident at
Yapemda senior high school in Sleman, Yogyakarta.
The victims of the accident, the worst this year, were mostly
school girls from Yapemda school. They were on the bus when a
trailer truck reversed back into it on a steep slope in the Banyu
Glugur area, and at the same time, the bus was rammed from behind
by a minivan. The fuel tank of the truck burst into flames
engulfing all three vehicles.
Iskandar Abubakar, the Director General for Land
Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation, added that the
neglect of safety standards by owners of public transportation
companies, who failed to provide safety equipment in their buses,
had contributed to the accident. "We hardly find emergency exits
and hammers on public transportation vehicles," he said.
He said that traffic accidents must be reduced, as they
claimed on average of 9,000 victims each year.
The lack of safety standards in public transportation vehicles
has also been a cause for concern for East Java governor Imam
Utomo.
"Following the Situbondo accident, the governor has already
instructed all public bus operators in East Java to equip their
buses with hammers and fire extinguishers," said Sutjahjono
Sujitno, the deputy governor for the economy and development, as
quoted by Antara news agency.
Meanwhile, up until Tuesday, the families of the victims had
received donations from various parties totaling Rp 34 million
(US$4,250) for each family.
The donations came from, among others, President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, Vice President Hamzah Haz, the Speaker of People
Consultative's Assembly, Amien Rais and other donors.
The Rp 34 million included compensation by state insurance
company PT Jasa Rahardja, amounting to Rp 10 million.
Bambang CN, the father of Bambang Sapto, one of three male
students killed in the accident, said that he already received
approximately Rp 20 million.
"I haven't counted it in total. If I am not mistaken, I have
already received Rp 20 million," he told The Jakarta Post.