BREBES, Indonesia (AFP) — At least 11 people died in Indonesia when a truck carrying sugar smashed into several motorcycles and houses on Sunday, an official said.
The truck was heading downhill in the district of Brebes in Central Java province on its way to the capital Jakarta when it failed to break, according to the local disaster agency.
It tried to stop by swerving left but instead hit a car, 13 motorbikes, and seven houses.
“So far eleven people died and 11 others are wounded,” said agency official Sarwa Permana, adding that the injured have been taken to the hospital.
The fate of the driver is unclear.
Transport accidents are not uncommon in the archipelago nation, where buses, trains, and even planes are often old and badly maintained.
In February, at least 27 people died and 16 others were injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed in West Java province.
In July last year, 10 people including an Austrian tourist and a 12-year-old child died when a bus traveling from resort island Bali to the town of Malang in East Java hit the back of a fertilizer truck, killing the sleeping passengers.
© Agence France-Presse
