Five killed, two seriously hurt in Riau road accident
Five killed, two seriously hurt in Riau road accident
Puji Santoso, The Jakarta Post/Pekanbaru
At least five people died and two others were injured when a
passenger van collided with a dump truck in Siak regency, Riau
province, on Thursday, police said.
Siak Police traffic division head Adj. Comr. L. Sihombing said
his officers were in the process of identifying the victims.
"My officers are still at the scene. I cannot give you any
details because we did not find any identity cards in the pockets
of the victims," he told The Jakarta Post about one hour after
the accident.
The deadly crash took place at about 10:30 a.m. on the Siak-
Pekanbaru highway, involving a Mitsubishi L-300 van and a dump
truck.
The accident occurred when the van, traveling from Rengat to
Pekanbaru at high speeds, attempted to overtake a car.
As the van was passing the car, a dump truck appeared
traveling in the opposite direction and the two vehicles were
unable to avoid a collision.
Police said local residents arrived at the scene shortly after
the accident and assisted the victims.
"We brought all of the dead and injured to Siak General
Hospital," Sihombing said.
He said the dump truck, which is owned by an oil contractor,
was loaded with dirt, and the van was carrying a number of
passengers.
Police seized both vehicles as evidence in their
investigation. Officers are trying to determine whether
negligence played a role in the accident.
Fatal road accidents are common in Indonesia, with police and
transportation officials blaming them mostly on overloaded
vehicles and reckless drivers.
On Sept. 23, at least five people were killed and nine others
injured when a bus collided with a minibus in Ngawi regency, East
Java province. Five passengers from the minibus died at the
scene.
On Sept. 17, six people died and 27 others were injured when
an overloaded bus overturned while traveling at high speeds in
Sleman regency, Yogyakarta.
A day earlier, a truck carrying cows plunged into a river in
Ngawi, killing seven people. And on Sept. 5, at least 12 people,
mostly women, were killed and six others injured when their
pickup truck was hit by a passenger train at a railway crossing
in Kendal Rejo village, Blitar regency, East Java.