JP/2/CRASH

Head-on collision in Batang claims 16

Suherdjoko The Jakarta Post/Batang

Sixteen people, five of them children, were killed and 11 others injured when a tourist bus crashed head-on into a pickup truck carrying on a highway in Batang regency, Central Java.

The victims of the accident that occurred late on Wednesday were members of an extended family from Kebumen subdistrict who were all riding in the Isuzu Panther truck.

The ill-fated family's journey had begun earlier, when they dropped off relatives at Raos Eco Restaurant in Gringsing district here, which is also a bus stop. The relatives were catching a bus back to Sumatra, where they work, after spending Idul Fitri in their hometown.

The family was on their way home to Batang when the bus plowed into them.

Eyewitnesses and survivors said the accident was caused by a Gembira Ria tourist bus that was speeding east from Jakarta to Semarang.

The bus, driven by Suwarno, was allegedly overtaking a car on a highway in Timbang subdistrict when it veered suddenly to avoid the Panther, which was approaching from the opposite direction.

The accident was inevitable, as the distance between the two vehicles was too short, Batang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Edy S. Setyo said on Thursday.

Thirteen people died at the scene, while another three died at a local hospital.

The police detained driver Sumarno, 46, from Central Java's Jepara regency, for questioning.

"The accident appears to have occurred in part because of the bus driver's negligence," said Edy after a preliminary investigation.

As of Thursday afternoon, the 11 survivors were still confined to hospital, while the dead had been buried in Batang, accompanied by dozens of mourners whose holiday season had ended abruptly with the horrific tragedy.

Accidents are common on the Timbang highway, a wide and straight road along which drivers were prone to speeding.

The accident brings the Idul Fitri toll in Central Java to 39.