The ill-fated bus was an Antar Lintas Sumatera (ALS) which headed to Jakarta from Medan, the capital of North Sumatra Province, according to Bukittinggi Police Spokesman 1st Inspector Agustiar.
The bus overturned after Kevin Harahap might have driven so fast in a one-way traffic that he failed to control the bus on a sharp turn in Lambeh Jorong Nyiur Nagari of Koto Malalak Selatan Village, he said.
"The bus with police license BK 7371 UD reportedly carried 47 passengers. One got killed, and 46 others survived the accident but sustained minor and severe injuries," he said.
The dead and wounded passengers had been evacuated to a public health center and two hospitals.
Nine of the 46 wounded passengers were sent to Malalak Public Health Center while seven were admitted to Dr.Achmad Mochtar Public Hospital in Bukittinggi City owing to their severe injuries.
The remaining 30 other passengers got rushed to Padang Pariaman Public Hospital. Five of them were seriously injured, he said, adding that the police had coordinated with the bus operator to handle the passengers.
A joint survey conducted by the Transportation Ministry and the Communication and Informatics Ministry revealed that 193.6 million residents are expected to travel during this year's Eid holiday season.
ANTARA reported earlier that during the Eid al-Fitr homecoming exodus and return flow period, which ran several days before and after the festivity, many traffic accidents had occurred in several parts of Indonesia.
This year's Eid celebration which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan fell on April 10. It was celebrated by Muslims around the world, including those in Indonesia.
According to the National Police Traffic Corps, the number of traffic accidents during the 2024 Eid homecoming exodus and return flow period declined by 15 percent compared to that of the previous year.
"Nationally, traffic accidents declined from 2,159 cases to 1,835 cases, or declined by 15 percent," according to Head of Polri's Traffic Corps Inspector General Aan Suhanan in his recent statement.
The number of fatalities due to traffic accidents also declined three percent from 291 people to 281 people.
However, the number of severely injured rose 13 percent from 281 people in 2023 to 317 people in 2024, while the number of minor injuries declined from 3,036 people to 2,424 people.
Suhanan said that the type of accidents with the highest incidence during the Eid period were head-on collisions at 433 cases, followed by rear-end collisions (379 cases).
"Rear-end meaning the vehicles did not keep the appropriate distance, or it could also be caused by drivers getting sleepy and then crashing," he said.
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Translator: Altas M, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Atman Ahdiat
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