Seven die in bus crash

TEGAL, Central Java: Seven people were killed and 16 others injured in a mass pile up involving a van, a bus and a scooter here on Thursday night, police said yesterday.

Chief of the Tegal police precinct Lt. Col. Soedibyo said the accident at about 8 p.m. triggered heavy traffic jams in this busy northern Java town.

The accident happened when a speeding van tried to avoid a scooter making a U-turn. The van hit the scooter before it smacked into an oncoming bus in the opposite lane.

Among those killed were the motorcyclist, the van driver and the bus driver, as well as the van's passengers. The injured were mostly the van's passengers, Soedibyo said. (har/pan)