Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The government has sent a team of officers from the Indonesian National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) to East Java provincial city of Probolinggo to investigate a road accident that killed 18 people on Saturday.

"KNKT has sent a team which was scheduled to arrive in Probolinggo on Sunday morning," Director General of Land Transportation, Ministry of Transportation, Suroyo Alimoeso said here on Sunday.

According to Suroyo, his office has long issued a plea that all parties observe traffic safety.

On Saturday (Dec 28) at least 18 people were killed and 14 others injured following a collision between a trailer truck and a cargo truck in Tongas sub-district, Probolinggo, East Java.

A morgue staff member at the Tongas general hospital, Agus Sudarsono, said 15 dead victims had been evacuated from the scene of the accident, and three others died while receiving emergency treatment in the hospital.

"The number of dead bodies from the incident in the morgue now totals 18," he said, adding that all the victims have been identified.

Two of the 18 bodies belonged to children, he added.

According to sources, the cargo truck was carrying 32 people when the incident occurred.

East Java police command spokesman Senior Commissioner Awi Setiyono said, when asked for confirmation about the incident by Antara, "As of 6.30pm, 16 victims have been reported to have died and 16 others were injured. All of them have been taken to the hospital."

Regarding the cause of the accident, he said the police were still working to determine what occurred.

reporting by Muhammad Razi Rahman
(B003/S012)


Editor: Jafar M Sidik
Copyright © ANTARA 2013