PAPUA-(MaraviPost)-At least 18 people have died and several others injured after an overloaded truck carrying 29 people hit crashed near an illegal gold mine in Indonesia’s West Papua province on Wednesday.
The deputy head of West Papua’s traffic unit, Andre Manuputty, confirmed the news in a televised Statement on Wednesday, April 13, 2022.
Manuputty said at roughly 2am local time the driver lost control of the vehicle following the failure of the brakes which led to the tragedy
The truck was headed to the capital of West Papua province Manokwari to celebrate Easter.
The passengers were on their way from a mining area in Minyambou village of Arfak Mountain district when it hit the mountain and flipped over before dawn.
One child was among the victims child and several others were in a critical condition receiving treatment at a local hospital, CNA reported.
Deadly traffic accidents are common in the archipelago nation of 270 million people, where vehicles are often old or poorly maintained, and road rules are routinely ignored.
In February, 13 people were killed and dozens more injured after a tour bus carrying factory workers to a beach holiday crashed on Indonesia’s Java island, according to police.
In March 2021, a bus carrying dozens of passengers plunged into a deep ravine in West Java province, killing 29 people.
