JACARTA – A bus carrying school children and some parents returning from an excursion plunged into a ravine on the Indonesian island of Java on Wednesday night, killing 27 people, the country’s transport ministry said.
The search and rescue agency said in a statement on Thursday that the bus driver lost control shortly before the accident in an area near the city of Sumedang in the province of West Java.
The Transport Ministry said the bus was carrying elementary school students and some parents, and that 39 people survived.
Crime scene photos showed that the bus ended up on its side, with rescuers trying to look for more victims.
Supriono, an official at the local search and rescue agency, said the evacuation efforts were completed later and the survivors were taken to a nearby hospital.
The exact cause of the accident was not immediately clarified, although the ministry said there were early indications that the vehicle’s assessment tests were not up to date.