Ten people die in minivan crash
Ten people die in minivan crash
PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): The holiday season exodus was
marred on New Year's eve when 10 people burned to death in a
collision 17 kilometers west of here.
The crash occurred at about 3:20 p.m. in Ciberung village on
Jl. Ajibarang KM. 17-18 in Banyumas regency.
The 10 victims were all passengers in minivan B 7419 XL, which
caught fire after being hit by a Sinar Jaya bus.
The minivan was bound to Jakarta from Purbalingga.
The bus was traveling at about 80 kilometers per hour from the
opposite direction at the time of the incident, Banyumas Regional
Police Chief Sr. Supt. Carel Risakotta said.
The driver and attendant of the Sinar Jaya bus are still at
large.
"We are doing our best to locate the bus driver. Fortunately,
the bus was not carrying passengers," the officer said.
The dead were identified as Jumadi Siswodihardjo, the driver
of the minivan Sukaryadi and his wife Munjiah, Munjiah's
1.5-year-old daughter named Dewi, two students named Azis, 10,
and Yunus, 7; Subandi, Subandi's wife Jujuk and their 3-year-old
daughter Riska and Jumadi's daughter Dwi Kurniawati, 18. Dwi was
an economics student at Purwokerto-based Jendral Soedirman
University.
On Monday, Jumadi and Dwi were buried in Purworejo while the
remaining eight were laid to rest in Purbalingga.
Police said the collision occurred after the bus driver
apparently lost control of the vehicle. The bus swerved to the
right and left and crashed into several vehicles, including the
minivan.
The minivan caught fire and hit a Kijang van in front of it,
which crashed into another Kijang van and a sedan. The bus and
the Kijang van in front of the minivan also caught fire and were
completely destroyed.
Traffic jam
In Bandung, the capital of West Java, traffic was reportedly
crowded on the southern Java route on Monday as many travelers
were trying to avoid the usually congested northern road, West
Java City police Insp. Gen. Yun Mulyana said during a visit to
monitor the return travelers on Monday.
He said many travelers used the southern roads not only to
avoid the congestion, but also to enjoy the beautiful views along
the route.
The officer said his office recorded 30 traffic accidents
since Dec. 18, leaving 25 people dead and some 90 others injured,
Antara news agency said.
The figure represented a slight decrease from 1999, when there
were 32 accidents, killing 52 and injuring 146.
In Surakarta, Central Java, an official with Tirtonadi bus
terminal, Soepriyono, said on Monday that his office had provided
14 additional busses to anticipate increased holiday travelers
bound for Semarang, Tegal and Purwokerto.
Official data showed that 2,713 busses, carrying 85,119
passengers left the terminal on Monday. There were 2,520 incoming
buses carrying 86,181 passengers.
Similar increases were also observed in Surabaya's Purabaya
bus terminal, in Bungurasih area with some 85,300 passengers,
returning to Surabaya on Sunday compared to some 36,000
passengers last Friday.
An officer with the Purabaya bus terminal, Radianto, predicted
that the number of returning passengers would peak on Monday.
Returning passengers at Merak port, Serang, Banten province,
during New Year's Eve were relatively constant, Widodo, a port
official, said.
There was no large increase in travelers at Merak port.
However, he predicted that a peak would occur in the next two
days as most institutions would resume activities on Thursday.
In Semarang, the capital of Central Java, an official with the
provincial office of the Ministry of Communication Jauhari
Parangenangen said there were 1,440,880 passengers at the Terboyo
bus terminal this Idul Fitri, an 18 percent increase above the
1,220,454 passengers in 1999.
Similar increases in the number of returning passengers was
also reported outside Java. (45/edt/lup)