Heru revealed that no less than 10 vehicles were involved in this lethal accident, adding that the Jasa Marga personnel and traffic policemen assisted in moving the dead and wounded victims from the accident site.
The police officers also helped to secure vehicular flow on the toll road connecting cities in West Java, Heru remarked.
On July 19, 2019, five people lost their lives, while three others suffered grave injuries after a pickup car rammed into a minivan on the Cikopo-Palimanan (Cipali) toll road in West Java.
Chief of the Majalengka Police Resort Adjunct Senior Commissioner Mariyono noted that the driver of the pickup car might have dozed off at the wheel, resulting in the car driving on the lane in the opposite direction and colliding with the minivan.
Four passengers of the minivan Suzuki APV and one passenger of the pickup car Daihatsu Grand Max died in the accident.
The three passengers, who sustained serious injuries, are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
Several fatal accidents have posed a steady challenge to Indonesia's reputation in transportation safety.
Last year, Indonesia had borne witness to a series of fatal accidents, including the incident on June 18, 2018, involving MV "Sinar Bangun," reportedly carrying onboard 202 passengers that had met its watery grave at the bottom of Lake Toba in North Sumatra Province.
Consequently, three passengers lost their lives, while 164 others had gone missing. There were only 21 survivors of the tragedy that struck at a time when the Indonesian government was making all-out efforts for promoting Lake Toba to be one of the 10 priority destinations "Beyond Bali."
The Lion Air JT 610 aircraft, with 189 passengers aboard, crashed into the Java Sea off Tanjung Karawang, West Java Province, on October 29, 2018, affecting Indonesians and foreign nationals.
In connection with the Lion Air Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft crash, the Australian federal government had also given instructions to its bureaucrats in Indonesia to not fly with Lion Air and its subsidiaries, as published in the West Australian in 2018.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla has also drawn serious attention to always prioritizing the safety-first principle as it, indeed, is emblematic of the interests of Indonesians and foreign visitors keen on travelling to cities and towns within the archipelago. Related news: Four people killed in traffic accident on Gresik toll road
Related news: Six killed in toll road accident
EDITED BY INE
Translator: Edy Sujatmiko, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2019
