Hike in number of people returning from holidays
JAKARTA (JP): As the Christmas and Idul Fitri holidays are over, people returning from their hometowns began to increase on Friday.
An officer at Bakauheni port in Lampung estimated that at least 20,000 people were crossing the Sunda Strait on ferries for Merak in Banten province in the western tip of Java on Friday. The figure is twice that of the previous day.
Hordes of people also packed the Rajabasa bus terminal in downtown Lampung. They had been queuing for tickets since early Friday morning, Antara reported.
A similar scene was also reported at Lampung's other terminal of Panjang.
Although there is a jump in travelers at the Merak harbor, the traffic between the port and its nearest major town of Cilegon was not congested.
There was also a hike in the number of people in Yogyakarta's main bus terminal of Umbulharjo.
Traffic congestions was reported in the main roads connecting Yogyakarta and towns in the neighboring province of Central Java.
People also flocked the Wonosari bus terminal, southeast of Yogyakarta, on Friday. A terminal official, Hartoyo, said 10 buses would be operating everyday in the coming week. Reserve buses are also in place in case there is a sharp increase in travelers.
Hartoyo said most of the bus tickets for seats from Jan. 1 to Jan. 5 had been sold days before Idul Fitri on Dec. 27.
Meanwhile in Cirebon, West Java, hundreds of people had to queue to buy tickets without seats for trains bound for Jakarta. There is suspicion that the train tickets have been sold to scalpers, who charge between Rp 25,000 and Rp 30,000 for a ticket which normally costs Rp 18,000.
Despite the rising number of travelers, there were no significant increase in crime.
An officer at Surabaya's main bus terminal of Purabaya claimed there were no thefts since the holidays.
"We received several reports of pickpocketing but they took place outside the terminal," the terminal head M. Subandi said on Friday.
Accidents
Twenty people died in separate road accidents while five others were killed in firecracker explosions during the two-day Idul Fitri holiday in Central Java.
The provincial police spokesman, Supt. M. Ramlie, said on Friday that the traffic accidents occurred in Brebes, Tegal and Purworejo regencies.
A mother and her four children died instantly when their vehicle plunged into a river in the Brebes village of Pejagan on Wednesday night. They were from Jakarta en route to Cilacap, Central Java.
At almost the same time, five people died when their car hit a tree in Jembayat village, Tegal.
On Thursday, a bus collided with a minivan in Purworejo, claiming 10 lives.
In West Java, a speeding truck carrying dozens of people skidded into a ravine in Puspa area, killing a man identified as Sukarna.
Another truck full of people overturned near the Tangkuban Perahu tourist spot.
Antara quoted Cagak Police subprecinct officer Pvt. Gustono on Friday as saying that the driver of the truck lost control of the vehicle because of brake failure.
Gustono added that several passengers, mostly teenagers, managed to jump off the truck before it overturned, while some 15 passengers, who remained in the truck, suffered minor injuries and were rushed to a nearby community health center.
Firecrackers caused the death of five people in three separate blasts in the Central Java town of Kebumen.
The first explosion killed two traders who were riding a motorbike carrying dozens of firecrackers in Mrinen village, Kotawinagun district. A father was killed, while his wife and child were injured, when a heap of firecrackers they had been keeping at their home in Kebumen exploded. Two others died after the firecrackers they had been storing exploded.
The police warning of the danger of firecrackers has gone unheeded in East Java, leaving two people dead and 72 others injured during the fasting month until the first day of Idul Fitri on Dec. 27.
Data gathered by the provincial police on Thursday revealed that of the injury list, 17 were wounded during Takbiran, or on the mass parades on the eve of the Muslim holiday. One of the victims had an arm amputated and another lost an eye. (har/nur/lup/jun)