Road mishaps kill 80 in two weeks

Road mishaps kill 80 in two weeks

JAKARTA: At least 80 people were killed and more than 100
others injured, many critically, in road accidents in Java,
Sumatra and Sulawesi over the past two weeks, press reports said
yesterday.

On Sunday alone 20 people were killed in a collision between a
bus and a truck in Meulaboh, southern Aceh. Several others were
seriously injured.

The accident occurred when one of the bus's tires blew up,
causing the bus to careen to the other side of the road and into
an oncoming truck.

The Medan-based Waspada daily quoted eyewitnesses as saying
that the bus was traveling so fast that its driver could not keep
control after the blow-out.

All the victims were bus passengers. They were on their way to
a recreational center in the regency to celebrate the Idul Fitri
holiday.

Also on Sunday, a crowded bus slipped into a ravine in the
jungle of Sembahe, North Sumatra, critically injuring 20
passengers, Antara reported yesterday.

The accident happened after the driver lost control of his
speeding Sinabung Jaya bus, the police said.

Near the Central Sulawesi capital of Palu, another calamity
occurred when flatbed of a speeding pick-up truck, jammed with 21
people in the back, fell apart, killing one and seriously
injuring the rest.

The truck, on its way from Donggala to Palu carrying Idul
Fitri holidaymakers, suddenly lost its back railings going around
a bend, police said.

In the West Java city of Bandung, the police have recorded 56
deaths and 60 injuries -- 24 of which were serious -- over the
past fortnight in various places throughout the province.

West Java police chief Maj. Gen. Soebandy said the majority of
the fatal road accidents could be attributed to the lack of
motorist discipline.

Last night, Antara reported that four people and dozens others
were injured in separate road accidents on busy northern Java
highways as tens of thousands of people streamed back to Jakarta
after spending their holidays in Central and East Java. (rms/pan)