Eight people killed in Tegal bus crash

Nana Rukmana, Tegal

Another tragedy has hit the north coast highway in Central Java, this time involving a collision between a bus and a minibus in Tegal regency, which killed at least eight people and injured 15 others, five of whom are seriously injured.

The deadly crash took place before midnight on Thursday at around 11 p.m. on the Semarang-Jakarta highway in Suradadi district.

Police and witnesses said on Friday that the accident occurred when an L-300 minibus carrying at least 11 passengers lost control as it traveled west to Jakarta at high speed.

At the same time, a bus operated by the Rosalia Indah company was traveling in the opposite direction to Surakarta, Central Java. The bus had left from Jakarta and was carrying around 30 passengers.

"A collision was unavoidable between the two vehicles. The minibus was severely damaged, while the bus slammed into a police post on the righthand side after hitting the minibus," Suradadi Police chief Adj. Comr. Suyono said.

The bus finally came to a halt in the front of a shop, he added.

The bus also hit two local residents -- Sidon, 35, and his wife, Solekha, 33, who were walking along the road. The two were killed instantly.

Suyono and local residents said five other victims also died at the scene, and while another died some hours later at the Texin Islamic Hospital, Tegal.

The six were named as the driver of the minibus, Samiun Sujadi, 39, and five passengers, Yudi Sutopo, 24, Laliyan, 27, Suratno, 25, Tarmuji, 40, and Indri Sutiana, 21. They were all from Karanganyar village, Purbalingga regency.

Five other passengers of the minibus were injured, as were 10 passengers of the Rosalia Indah bus. "Those who were severely injured are now being treated at the Texin hospital," Suyono said.

Suyono said that a preliminary investigation showed that the accident was caused by "recklessness" on the part of the drivers of the two vehicles -- both had been exceeding the speed limit.

"Based on statements from a number of eyewitnesses and survivors, we have concluded that the accident was caused by driver negligence," he added.

Suyono said the police were searching for the driver of the bus, Bambang, who ran away immediately after the accident, possibly to avoid being mobbed by local residents at the scene.

"We are hunting him. We believe he will be apprehended quickly as we know where he lives," he added.

Recklessness on the part of drivers and poor safety and maintenance systems on most vehicles are often blamed for deadly road and rail accidents across the country.

Last October, 50 students, mostly girls, from a Yogyakarta senior high school were burned to death after becoming trapped in their chartered bus after it slammed into the back of a trailer truck in Situbondo regency, East Java.

On April 26, a bus smashed into an elementary school in Batang regency, Central Java, killing at least two people and injuring 37 others, including 16 students.

Also, three people died and seven others were seriously injured when a minibus overturned in February in Subang regency, West Java.