Bus-tanker collision in Indonesia kills at least 16

The accident took place around midday on the Trans-Sumatra Highway in North Musi Rawas regency of South Sumatra province.

According to local disaster management official Mugono, the intercity bus carrying at least 20 passengers was travelling from Lubuklinggau in South Sumatra to Jambi city when it crashed into a tanker truck coming from the opposite direction.

Initial findings suggested the bus may have produced sparks shortly before the collision, prompting the driver to move toward the right side of the road in an apparent attempt to avoid danger. However, the tanker truck was approaching at high speed, leaving little room to avoid the crash.

“The forceful impact triggered a fire that engulfed both vehicles, leaving many victims trapped inside,” Mugono said.

Among the dead were the bus driver, 13 passengers, and the tanker truck’s driver and assistant. Officials said all of them were burned to death after the vehicles caught fire.

Four passengers from the bus survived and were taken to a nearby health facility. Three suffered serious burn injuries, while another sustained minor injuries.

Authorities said they are still verifying the exact number of passengers and victims as the passenger manifest remains incomplete.

Images and video footage released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed firefighters trying to control the blaze as thick black smoke and flames rose from the wreckage.

The remains of both vehicles were badly damaged, with twisted metal scattered across the highway.

Rescue workers, disaster response teams and traffic police carried out operations to recover victims and remove debris from the road. Several victims were trapped inside the burned vehicles, making rescue efforts more difficult and causing traffic disruption along the highway.

North Musi Rawas traffic police chief Muhammad Karim said 16 body bags had been sent to Siti Aisyah Hospital in Lubuk Linggau for identification.

Karim said police forensic teams have so far identified five victims, including the bus driver, two bus crew members, the tanker driver and one passenger.

“The bodies are severely burned, which has complicated the identification process,” Karim said.

He added that the remains would later be transported to Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Palembang, the provincial capital, for autopsies.

Karim later revised earlier preliminary findings, saying investigators now believe the bus entered the opposite lane while attempting to avoid a pothole, leading to the head-on collision and fire.

Road accidents are frequent in Indonesia due to inadequate road infrastructure and weak safety standards.

Last week, at least 15 women were killed near Jakarta after a long-distance train crashed into a commuter train that had stopped near a station following a taxi breakdown on the tracks, reports UNB.