11 dead, mostly students, in Indonesia bus crash after brakes apparently failed, police say

Bandung, May 12

A bus slammed into cars and motorbikes after its brakes apparently malfunctioned in Indonesia’s West Java province, killing at least 11 people, mostly students, and injuring dozens of others, officials said on Sunday.

The bus carrying 61 students and teachers was returning to a high school in Depok outside Jakarta, the capital, on Saturday from the hilly resort area of Bandung after a graduation celebration, said West Java police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast.

It sped out of control on a downhill road and crossed lanes, hitting several cars and motorbikes before it crashed into an electricity pole, he said.

Nine people died at the scene and two others died later in the hospital, including a teacher and a local motorist, Abast said. Fifty-three other people were hospitalised with injuries, including some in critical condition, he said.

“We are still investigating the cause of the accident, but a preliminary investigation showed the bus’s brakes malfunctioned,” Abast said.

Local television footage showed the mangled bus in the darkness on its side, surrounded by rescuers, police and passersby as ambulances evacuated the injured.