Indonesia bus plunges into a ravine, killing 27 pilgrims
Jakarta: A tourist bus plunged into a ravine on Indonesia's main island of Java after its brakes apparently malfunctioned, killing at least 27 people and injuring 39 others, police and rescuers said Thursday.
The bus was carrying a group of Islamic junior high school students, teachers and parents from the West Java province town of Subang when the accident happened late Wednesday on a winding road, said local police chief Eko Prasetyo Robbyanto.
He said the bus was on its way back to Subang from a pilgrimage site in the province's Tasikmalaya district when it plunged into the 20-metre-deep ravine after the driver lost control of the vehicle in an area with a number of sharp declines in Sumedang district.
Police were still investigating the cause of the accident, but survivors told authorities that the vehicle's brakes apparently malfunctioned, Robbyanto said.
Bandung search and rescue agency chief Deden Ridwansah said the 27 bodies and 39 injured people were taken to a hospital and a nearby health clinic, including a body of a young boy who was pinned under the overturned bus and pulled from the wreckage Thursday morning.
Thirteen of the injured were treated for serious injuries, Ridwansah said. The driver was among those killed.
Television video showed police and rescuers from the National Search and Rescue Agency evacuating injured victims and carrying the dead to ambulances. Grieving relatives waited for information about their loved ones at Sumedang's general hospital, others tried to identify the bodies laid at a morgue.
Road accidents are common in Indonesia because of poor safety standards and infrastructure.
In December 2019, 35 people were killed when a passenger bus fell into a 80-metre-deep ravine and crashed into a fast-flowing river on Sumatra island. In early 2018, 27 people killed after a packed tourist bus plunged from a hill in West Java's hilly area.
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BJP workers allegedly attack children during Christmas carol roadshow in Kerala’s Palakkad: Reports
Palakkad: A group of children celebrating Christmas through a carol roadshow was allegedly attacked by BJP workers in Kerala’s Palakkad district on Sunday night.
According to local reports, the incident occurred in Pudussery area of Palakkad, where over 25 children, mostly aged around 13, were moving from house to house singing Christmas carols. Reports state that a BJP worker identified as Ashwin Raj, along with others, allegedly assaulted the children and vandalised their musical equipment.
According to the police and eyewitness accounts, the children were using a band set that belonged to a local CPI(M) office, which had the party’s name written on it.
Allegedly objecting to this, the accused and his associates reportedly lured the children on the pretext of offering them money and then assaulted them. The band set used by the children was also smashed.
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The Town Police have arrested Ashwin Raj, a local BJP worker who has been named as the prime accused in the case. Efforts are underway to trace and arrest the remaining accused who fled the scene.
Speaking to the media, one of the injured children said, “We were using the band just for fun. When they saw that it had CPM written on it, they took us aside and beat us.”
"We had given the band set that was in our office out of love when the children asked for it. The fact that these young children, who do not know the intricacies of politics, were attacked shows the criminal mentality of the BJP workers," local CPIM leaders expressed outrage.
A police officer told PTI that the arrested accused is already booked under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA).
The sections invoked include Section 192 (provocation with intent to cause a riot), Section 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), and Section 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), police added.
