House member dies as bus plunges into ravine
House member dies as bus plunges into ravine
Slamet Susanto and Tarko Sudiarno, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta
A bus carrying at least 13 House of Representatives members
plunged into a ravine in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta, on Monday,
leaving one of them dead and the other 12 House members injured.
Five other passengers were also wounded, including Yogyakarta
resettlement and regional infrastructure agency chief Tri Herjun
and local transportation agency chief Setyoso.
Budi Prihandoko, a legislator from the Democratic Party
faction in the House, died instantly in the accident that took
place at around 11:15 a.m. in Munthuk village, Dlingo district.
The brakes of the bus apparently malfunctioned as it was
traveling on a winding road from Srandakan, Bantul, to Bribin in
Gunungkidul regency, and was unable to adequately slow down
around a curve. It plunged some 10 meters down a steep ravine
after hitting a police escort vehicle in front of it.
"While descending on the curving road, the brakes suddenly
failed and I could not control the bus. Before it went into the
ravine, the bus rammed a traffic police Kijang," said Budi
Sumarno, the bus driver.
He added that the bus rolled several times before being halted
by trees. All of the windows were shattered.
The Kijang, driven by Junaidi, also lost control and drove off
the edge of the road into the ravine, but the passengers only
sustained minor cuts and bruises.
Another witness, Bantul legislative council member Riyanto
Dimas, who was in another bus behind the ill-fated vehicle, gave
a similar account.
"I saw the bus lose control and rammed into the Kijang van in
front. It later rolled four times as it tumbled down the ravine
along with the van," he said.
Riyanto also said that the same bus seemed to be having a lot
of trouble getting up a steep section of the road earlier in the
trip. "At the time, the bus was almost unable to get up the
hill."
Budi and the injured victims, all from House Commission V, had
planned to visit a clean water drilling project in Bribin after
inspecting a bridge development project earlier in the morning.
The lawmakers arrived in Yogyakarta on Saturday for a five-day
working visit along with several officials from the Ministry of
Public Works.
Budi's body was taken to Sadjito Hospital for an autopsy and
the wounded victims to a nearby community health center before
being transferred to other hospitals in Yogyakarta.
Also injured were legislators Anas Ahmad Yahya and Erman
Suparno, from the National Awakening Party (PKB), A. Muqowwam and
Syahrial Agamas, from the United Development Party (PPP); Endang
Sastraprawira, Nusirwan Soejono and Ida Bagus Nugroho, from the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Suharsojo of the
Golkar Party and Rustanto Wahidi of the Democratic Party.
Other injured passengers included Bambang Satmoko and Dedi
Aryadi, a TVRI reporter and cameraman, respectively.
Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Sudiman said the bus was
considered roadworthy and had often been used for official trips.
He said the police were investigating the crash to determine
the cause. "It remains unclear whether it was certainly caused by
a brake failure or not. Our priority is the safety of the injured
victims," he said.
Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono said the local
administration would cover the medical costs of the victims. "I
am concerned and mourn over the fatal accident."
In Jakarta, House speaker Agung Laksono expressed his
condolences over the death of Budi. "Before opening my speech, I
want to express my condolences for the death of Pak Budi
Prihandoko," Agung said during the launch of his book entitled
"The Most Beautiful House is for the People".
Two weeks ago, the House also lost another member, Yusuf
Muhammad of PKB, who was among 26 people killed in a Lion Air
crash in Surakarta, Central Java.
Agung added that the House was on one-month recess that
started on Dec. 11 and many lawmakers were on working visits to
regions to collect information from constituents and other
sources.