A bus plunged right into a ravine on Indonesia’s Sumatra island after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing no less than 28 folks and injuring 13, police and rescuers mentioned Tuesday.
The accident occurred simply earlier than midnight Monday on a winding street in South Sumatra province’s Pagaralam district.
Palembang search and rescue operation chief Berty Kowaas mentioned the our bodies have been taken to a hospital for identification. They included the physique of a younger boy who was pulled from a river close to the crash website.
One of many injured was in vital situation, native police chief Dolly Gumara mentioned.
Gumara mentioned the bus plunged right into a 80-metre-deep ravine and crashed right into a fast-flowing river after the driving force misplaced management of the car in an space with plenty of sharp declines.
Survivors informed authorities the car’s brakes apparently malfunctioned, however police have been nonetheless investigating the reason for the accident, Gumara mentioned.
The bus was headed for the provincial capital of Palembang from the neighbouring metropolis of Bengkulu.
Variety of passengers aboard unclear
Kowaas mentioned the seek for different passengers who may need been dragged away by the river was halted as darkness fell and can be resumed Wednesday morning.
The capability of the bus was 52 passengers, however the quantity on board was unclear. The driving force and two crew have been amongst these killed.
Tv video confirmed police and rescuers from the Nationwide Search and Rescue Company evacuating injured victims and carrying the useless in blue physique baggage. Grieving kin waited for details about their family members on the bus firm’s workplace in Bengkulu and at Pagaralam’s Besemah hospital.
Highway accidents are frequent in Indonesia due to lacklustre security requirements and infrastructure:
- Early final 12 months, 27 folks have been killed when a packed vacationer bus plunged from a hill in West Java province.
- Two months later, two accidents in West Java’s hilly resort area of Puncak killed no less than 15 folks.
- In September final 12 months, 21 have been killed when a vacationer bus plunged right into a ravine in Bogor, one other hilly space in West Java.
