Hanoi (VNA) – A fatal collision between a passenger bus and a tanker truck in North Musi Rawas district, Indonesia’s South Sumatra, on May 6 resulted in the deaths of 16 people, the local authorities confirmed.
As reported by the Indonesian national news agency Antara, according to preliminary reports, the accident occurred when the bus, traveling northward from Lubuklinggau to Pekanbaru and Medan, caught fire while passing through the North Musi Rawas section of the Trans-Sumatra Road at around 12:39 p.m. local time.
Upon noticing the fire, the driver attempted to pull over to the right shoulder to contain it. However, at the same time, a tanker truck was approaching from the opposite direction. The collision was unavoidable, as the vehicles crashed head-on at high speed, triggering a major blaze.
The North Musi Rawas Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) rescue officers are coordinating with traffic police to carry out evacuation efforts, focusing on clearing the accident site and assisting the victims.
The operation is ongoing to rescue other passengers still trapped in the bus wreckage./.
