A bus in Indonesia carrying 61 students lost its brakes and smashed into cars and motorbikes late Saturday, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
Most of those killed were students returning from a graduation celebration with their teachers to their high school outside the capital, Jakarta, according to the AP, citing police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast.
The bus lost control on a downhill road, crossing lanes and hitting cars and motorbikes before slamming into a pole, resulting in nine people dying at the scene, the AP reported, citing Abast. (RELATED: Deadly Mexico Bus Crash Kills At Least 16 Venezuelan And Haitian Migrants)
At least 11 dead, mostly students, in Indonesia bus crash after brakes apparently failed, police say https://t.co/A3kAepYGaf
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 12, 2024
A teacher and local motorist later died in the hospital; another 53 people were treated for injuries, some critical, the outlet reported.
Local television broadcast images of the destroyed bus surrounded by rescuers and ambulances, the AP reported.
“We are still investigating the cause of the accident, but a preliminary investigation showed the bus’s brakes malfunctioned,” Abast said, according to the outlet.
Indonesia is plagued by subpar safety standards and poor infrastructure; road accidents, such as a May 16, 2022 tourist bus crash which killed 14 people and injured 19, are common, according to the AP.
A car crashed into a bus and another car April 8, 2024, killing 12 as people traveled on a busy highway to celebrate the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the Australian Broadcasting Company reported.
In 2022, a fuel truck killed at least 25 people when it slammed into a group of motorcyclists, according to The Sun.
Another accident in 2021 killed 27 and injured 39 others when a tourist bus lost its brakes and plunged into a ravine, the AP reported.