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View all search resultsDeadly Trans-Sumatra crash reawakens transport safety alarm
A lawmaker has called for a comprehensive review of national transportation safety standards after a passenger bus collided with a fuel truck and exploded on Wednesday, killing 16 people, in the latest fatal accident involving public transport.
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Local residents look at the burned-out frame of a bus operated by Antar Lintas Sumatera (ALS), draped with police tape, along the Trans-Sumatra Highway in Karang Jaya district of South Sumatra’s North Musi Rawas regency on May 6, 2026, after a collision with a tanker truck that killed 16 people, including the drivers of the two vehicles. (Antara/Handout–BPBD Muratara)
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ixteen people were killed on Wednesday after a passenger bus collided with a fuel truck on the Trans-Sumatra Highway in North Musi Rawas regency, South Sumatra, just 10 days after a double train crash in Greater Jakarta also claimed 16 lives, renewing concerns over national transportation safety standards.
Sumatra Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Nandang Mu’min Wijaya said out of the fatal victims, 14 were aboard the bus operated by Antar Lintas Sumatera (ALS), including the driver, and the remaining two were the driver of the tanker truck and his assistant.
“Besides the fatalities, three people suffered severe burns and one sustained minor injuries. Material losses are estimated at around Rp 500 million [US$28,782],” he said.
According to the preliminary investigation into the head-on collision, the bus driver, identified as A, was apparently trying to avoid a pothole when he swerved into the opposite lane, directly into the path of the oncoming tanker truck, driven by Y.
“The impact triggered a large explosion, causing both vehicles to be engulfed in flames,” Nandang added.
Authorities evacuated all victims to Siti Aisyah Regional General Hospital in Lubuklinggau, and then transferred the bodies of those killed to Bhayangkara Mohammad Hoesin Central General Hospital in Palembang for identification by the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.
Read also: Train accidents mount as crossings left unchecked
