Patient Dies in Back of Pickup Truck on Way to Health Centre Due to Bad Roads
Yosep Ban (69), a resident of Dusun Pandang, Arus Village, Lamba Leda Timur District, East Manggarai, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), died en route to the Lawir Health Centre on Wednesday (25 February 2026). Yosep, who was referred from the Arus Health Post, passed away as the vehicle carrying him entered Kampung Rangkeng, Golo Lero Village, Lamba Leda Timur.
Yosep was transported in a pickup truck that had been fitted with a makeshift roof. The family highlighted the poor condition of the roads that the vehicle had to travel on. A member of Yosep’s family expressed their disappointment about the damaged roads through their Facebook account.
They shared a video of Yosep’s body in the pickup truck and the damaged roads. In the video, Yosep’s family mentioned the Regent of East Manggarai, Agas Andreas, in relation to the condition of the roads.
“Please take a good look at this, Mr. Agas, the honourable Regent of East Manggarai. My uncle, my patient, died today on the way because of the bad roads,” they said through the Facebook account Ancyk Guanteng. The post went viral on social media.
When contacted for further confirmation, the account owner confirmed the incident. “That post is a true account of the death, which occurred on the damaged road as seen in the video. This is the road leading to the Lawir Health Centre. We departed from Arus Village to the Lawir Health Centre,” they explained.
The Head of Lamba Leda Timur District, Rikardus R. Yasman, confirmed that Yosep died while being referred to the Lawir Health Centre.
“Yes, there was a patient from Dusun Pandang, Arus Village, who died while being referred from the Arus Health Post to the Lawir Health Centre. His name was Yoseph Ban,” said Rikardus.
According to him, Yosep died due to acute respiratory problems. He confirmed the poor condition of the roads as complained about by Yosep’s family.
“Regarding the family’s complaint about the damaged roads, it is true that the road they travelled on is currently in very poor condition, but the cause of the patient’s death was due to illness,” he said.
The Head of the Lawir Health Centre, Irvansensia D. Mutiara, also confirmed Yosep’s death while he was being transported to the Health Centre. According to her, Yosep had previously been treated at the Lawir Health Centre from 17-19 February 2026.
“According to the family, he started feeling unwell again on Sunday and did not want to eat. It was only today that the family decided to bring him back to the Health Centre,” explained Irvansensia.
(hsa/hsa)