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Bus plunges into Lake Toba ravine, killing two, injuring 13
Local police have said that two people were killed and 13 injured when a bus plunged into a ravine while climbing a steep road in the popular tourist area.
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Lake Toba, which is located in North Sumatra and covers 1,707 square kilometers, or nearly twice the size of Singapore, is seen in this photograph taken on April 4, 2019. (AFP/Goh Chai Hin)
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span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language:EN-US">At least two people were killed and 13 others injured on Tuesday afternoon when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in the Lake Toba tourism area in Nainggolan district, Samosir, North Sumatra.
Adj. Comr. Yuswanto, who heads the Samosir Police’s traffic unit, said the bus was heading up a hill from Nainggolan to Hutasiantarantar when the driver lost control of the vehicle, which slid down the road and fell into a 30-meter-deep ravine.
The victims were taken to various health facilities in Samosir. He added that Esni Sihotang, 78, died while being transported to Dr. Hadrianus Sinaga Pangururan General Regional Hospital, and Agustina Sihotang, 38, died at Puskesmas (community health center) Sirait Nainggolan.
Yuswanto said police had yet to question the driver, who was still being treated.
Lake Toba is one of Indonesia’s “super priority” tourist destinations, also called the “five new Bali”.
Last month, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called for greater improvement to tourist facilities at Lake Toba after he observed their subpar quality during the Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship.
At the end of 2022, the government announced a plan to disburse an additional budget totaling Rp 15 trillion (US$963 million) to develop its five priority tourism destinations over the next two years.
The Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry aims to complete its development projects in the priority destinations of Lake Toba, Borobudur in Central Java, Labuan Bajo in East Nusa Tenggara, Mandalika in West Nusa Tenggara and Likupang in North Sulawesi.
The ministry also targets increasing domestic tourism this year to between 1.2-1.4 million visitors by holding more events, with tourism minister Sandiaga Uno estimating that the tourism and creative economy industries would create 4.4 million new jobs. (dre)
