Indonesia bus pileup kills 54, mostly schoolgirls ( 2003-10-09 15:19) (Agencies)
The death toll from a school bus crash reached 54
Thursday and police said they had launched a search for a truck driver accused
of causing one of the country's worst road accidents this year.
A bus full of high students was returning late Wednesday from a trip to Bali
when a semi-trailer veered into its lane and crashed head-on into it, police
said. A second truck then smashed into the back of the bus on the busy highway
near Situbondo, some 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Jakarta.
Situbondo Police Sgt. Iswahyudi, who uses one name, said the truck driver had
fled the scene and was wanted for questioning. He said the truck's brakes
appeared to give out as it descended down a hill toward the bus, he said.
"It is the worst the traffic accident so far on this route," he said. "We are
still questioning witnesses to find out what happened and we want to find the
truck driver to question him."
At the town's hospital, authorities had begun the grisly task of identifying
bodies. Many of the victims, authorities said, had been trapped in the bus and
were burned beyond recognition. So far, 26 victims had been identified.
"We saw the bodies," a hospital nurse who identified herself as Kusniani.
"They were badly burned. It was horrible."
Traffic accidents are a frequent hazard of Indonesia's often-crowded and
poorly maintained highways. Motorists often flaunt traffic laws and police can
be bribed to ignore infractions such as speeding.
In April, two buses collided on a toll road outside the capital Jakarta,
killing 11 and injuring 25.
