Six dead, 27 hurt as overloaded bus crashes, flips in Yogyakarta

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post/Yogyakarta

At least six people were killed and 27 others injured when an overloaded bus overturned while traveling at high speeds early on Friday in Sleman regency, Yogyakarta, survivors and police said.

Five of the victims died at the scene of the accident, which occurred at about 12:30 a.m. All five were hanging out of the door of the bus. The sixth fatality was identified as the bus' 30-year-old driver, Purwadi.

Seven passengers are being treated at Muhammadiyah Hospital in Yogyakarta for serious injuries, including broken bones and concussions. Twenty other passengers were treated for minor injuries and released.

The Kopata minibus was carrying more than 40 passengers at the time of the accident. All of the passengers were residents of Trimulyo village in Jetis district, Bantul regency, returning from an Islamic gathering in neighboring Sleman.

"The bus, which should have carried a maximum of 26 people, was loaded with over 40 passengers. Some of the passengers were hanging out of the door and were pinned under the bus when it overturned," said Sleman Police's traffic chief, First Insp. Edwi Wuryanto.

He said the accident occurred when the bus attempted to turn at the Palem Gurig three-way intersection in Gamping, Sleman. According to survivors, the bus was speeding through the intersection to beat the traffic light, which was about to turn red.

The driver lost control of the vehicle, which overturned after hitting a roadside barrier, Edwi said.

Muhyono, the 23-year-old assistant driver who was at the wheel of the bus at the time of accident, said he tried to pick up speed going through the intersection because the bus had to make it up a steep incline after the turn.

"I tried to slow down but the brakes did not work. Then, the bus hit the roadside barrier. I don't remember what happened next because I lost consciousness," he said.

Muhyono, who was among those injured in the accident and is still being treated at the hospital, said he had a driver's license. However, officers investigating the accident deny this.

Sleman Police have yet to name any suspects in the fatal accident.

Crashes are often blamed on recklessness and overloading. In one recent accident, 11 women traveling to an Islamic prayer meeting and a three-year-old boy died when a passenger train hit their pickup truck at a railway crossing in Kendal Rejo village, Talun district, Blitar regency, East Java, on Sept. 5, 2004.

On the same day, four people were killed and 18 others injured when two buses and four cars were involved in a pileup in Magelang regency, Central Java.