Two killed, 31 survive in Batanghari bus crash

Jambi (ANTARA) - Two passengers lost their lives while 31 others survived a bus crash that occurred on the Muara Bulian road section of the Trans-Sumatra Highway in Batanghari District, Jambi Province, on Thursday morning.

According to the Head of the Batanghari Traffic Police Unit, First Inspector Agung Prasetyo, 26 out of the 31 survivors sustained injuries in the single-vehicle crash.

He remarked that all injured passengers from the bus, bearing license plate number BA 7178 QU, were admitted to the district's Mitra Medika Hospital for medical treatment.

Prasetyo stated that the accident occurred at around 12:10 a.m. local time as the Padang-Bandung route bus was en route to Jambi, adding that the driver is suspected to have experienced microsleep.

As a result, the driver, who survived the bus crash with injuries, lost control of the vehicle while navigating a sharp turn, causing the bus to skid and overturn, he explained.

ANTARA noted that the Batanghari bus crash occurred during the busy road trips of this year's Eid al-Fitr homecoming season as the fasting month of Ramadan nears its conclusion.

In this regard, state-owned ferry operator PT ASDP Indonesia Ferry (Persero) recorded 376,871 passengers crossing from Java Island to Sumatra Island from D-10 to D-5 of Eid al-Fitr 2025.

The Merak Eid Transportation Post stated that 50 ships operated on D-5 of Eid, or March 26, 2025.

On D-5 of Eid al-Fitr, 21,565 vehicles -- including 643 buses -- crossed from Java to Sumatra, marking a six percent increase from last year’s 20,412 units.