The bus that plunged into a ravine killing 21 people in Sukabumi, West Java on Saturday was beset by numerous problems, and now it has emerged that the person driving the vehicle should not have been at the wheel in the first place.
According to the police, the bus conductor, identified as Muhammad Adam, took over from the driver, identified as Jahidi, shortly before the accident. Jahidi was among those who died in the accident.
“At the descending S-turn he (Adam) claimed he lost function of the brake, so he tried to stop the bus with force, pulling the handbrake and switching from sixth gear to first. Knowing that he can’t control the bus he tried to drive it to the side, but there was a motorcycle which he tried to avoid, resulting in the bus falling down the ravine,” Sukabumi Police Chief Nasriadi told reporters yesterday, as quoted by Detik.
After the accident, an injured Adam allegedly ran away from the scene, refusing help from concerned locals. After a brief search, he was eventually found by a river, claiming that he left the accident scene in search of water because he was thirsty.
“He did not want to be helped. The locals wanted to help him, some even wanted to carry him to ease the evacuation. But he refused, which is an indication that he wanted to erase his tracks,” Nasriadi said.
“We are still investigating [if the accident was caused by] brake malfunction or human error. We will wait for the scene analysis report by the Traffic Accident Analysis division.”
At least 21 people died and several others were injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed and plunged into a ravine on the Indonesian island of Java, police said Saturday.
The crash happened when the bus with 37 people on board was heading to a holiday spot in Sukabumi region, West Java.
The vehicle — which was last examined in a road-worthiness test in 2016 — was seen speeding downhill and lost control before plunging into a 10-meter-deep ravine.
The bus was part of a four-bus tour from Jakarta heading to a rafting spot in Pelabuhan Ratu, Sukabumi.
Passengers from other buses who arrived safely at the destination told the police they had seen smoke coming from the engine of the bus before it embarked on the journey.
Authorities have issued repeated warnings that the route where the accident occurred was not suitable for buses due to the narrowness of the road and multiple tight corners.
On Friday, another bus carrying 21 people also crashed in the same region, killing one and injuring the rest.
Transport accidents are common in Indonesia, where buses and trains are often old and badly maintained.
In February at least 27 people died when a bus with 40 domestic tourists on board hit a motorbike and crashed in Subang region, also in West Java.
With additional reporting by AFP
