T

hree fatal road accidents have taken place in Java and Sulawesi over the past two days, killing 13 people and injuring scores of others.

In Cirebon, West Java, six people were killed when the bus they were traveling in slammed into a truck laden with cement in Panggangsari village, Losari district, Cirebon regency, West Java, on Monday evening, along one of the busiest routes on the north coast of Java.

Five people died at the scene, one died at the Gunung Jati General Hospital (RSUD), Cirebon.

Cirebon Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hero Henriyanto said among the deceased was the truck driver Sunardi.

The accident occurred when the Garuda Mas bus they were traveling in was speeding from the direction of Central Java to Jakarta along the Losari route when its front tires burst. The bus swerved to the right, careered over the road divider and slammed into the oncoming truck.

In Subang, West Java, four people were killed in a traffic accident when a bus carrying vacationers overturned and hit a motorcycle in Tanjakan Emen, Subang regency.

Subang Traffic Police Accident Unit chief Second. Insp. Harman Sitorus said the deceased were Chinese nationals and a tour guide from Jakarta. Sixteen tourists from Taiwan were injured in the accident.

The accident occurred when they were returning from a sightseeing trip to Mount Tangkuban Parahu, located some 25 kilometers north of Bandung.

Before overturning and hitting the motorcycle, the bus, which was carrying 21 passengers, was thought to be traveling downhill at high speed without applying the brakes. After overturning and hitting the motorcycle, the bus slammed into the embankment of a tea plantation on the left side of the road. Harman speculated that negligence may have been the cause of the accident.

In South Sulawesi, three people were killed in an accident between a bus and a truck in Bua district, Luwu regency, some 350 kilometers north of provincial capital Makassar, South Sulawesi.

The accident took place on Tuesday at around 4:30 a.m. local time. South Sulawesi Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Chevy Ahmad Sopari said the Kharisma bus, driven by Alling, 25, was traveling at high speed from Makassar to Palopo when one of its front tires burst. The bus rolled and hit a parked truck on the right side of the road.

(Nana Rukmana, Arya Dipa and Andi Hajramurni contributed reporting from Cirebon, Bandung and Makassar respectively)