At least 16 people died and four were injured when a passenger bus and a fuel tanker collided in North Musi Rawas Regency, on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, on Wednesday.
Hasbi Hasidqi, an official with the regional disaster agency, said the dead were 14 bus passengers and two people in the tanker. Four survivors were taken to hospital. Three of them had severe burns.
The cause is not settled. Hasidqi said preliminary findings point to a burst tyre on the bus, which reportedly made the driver lose control before the vehicle hit the tanker. The impact set off a major fire that burned both vehicles. The tanker was said to be carrying diesel.
It was the latest in a run of deadly accidents. Last month a train collision in West Java left 16 dead and dozens injured, and in another crash in Central Java four people died, two of them children. Aging infrastructure and poorly maintained vehicles keep transport risky across road, rail and air travel in Indonesia.
