This archive report was first published on 24 December 2019.
On December 24, 2019, a devastating bus crash occurred in South Sumatra province, Indonesia, leaving a trail of destruction and loss of life.
A regional bus, traveling from Bengkulu province to Pagar Alam, veered off the road and plunged into a 150-metre ravine near the town of Pagar Alam, just before midnight on Monday.
According to local police spokesman Dolly Gumara, the bus crashed into a concrete road barrier before plummeting into the ravine, leaving some passengers trapped inside.
Search and rescue teams were deployed to the scene to look for victims, with injured survivors being taken to hospital.
The accident occurred in a remote and steep area, hampering rescue efforts and making it difficult to determine the exact number of passengers on board.
While the bus was only supposed to carry 27 passengers, some survivors told police that there were around 50 people on board when the accident happened, suggesting that some passengers may have been added along the way.
The cause of the accident is still being investigated, but traffic accidents are common in Indonesia, where vehicles are often old and poorly maintained, and road rules are frequently flouted.
Just last September, at least 21 people died in a similar bus crash in West Java's Sukabumi region, and several months earlier, 12 people were killed and dozens more injured in a bus accident on the same toll road in West Java.
