Fatal Cipularang pile-up still under probe

Purwakarta, West Java (ANTARA) - The fatal pile-up that killed 6 people in Cipularang toll roads, Purwakarta District, West Java, on Monday, is still under probe by the police.

Adjunct Commissioner Ricki Adisaputro, head of the traffic section of the Purwakarta Police, said six people were killed and six cars gutted in a collision involving 15 vehicles at the Cipularang toll road's KM 91+400 in Purwakarta.

"We, and personnel of (state-owned toll operator) PT Jasa Marga and others are still evacuating the victims from the scene of the accident," he added.

Apart from cars, the 15 vehicles involved the collision included trucks and buses, the Purwakarta Police Office, said here Monday. Ten others were injured in the accident.

Related news: Six dead in Cipularang toll road's multi-vehicle crash: Jasa Marga

The victims were taken to nearby hospitals including Bayu Asih Public Hospital, Siloam Hospital and Thamrin Hospital in Purwakarta.

The pile-up caused severe traffic jams on the toll road that connects Jakarta and Bandung, West Java.

Meanwhile, the number of people who died following a multiple-vehicle collision was reportedly risen to eight, according to a local police chief.

"After the identification process, it has been confirmed that eight people were killed in the traffic accident," Adjunct Senior Commissioner Matrius, chief of the Purwakarta Police, said here on Monday.

Several of them died instantly, others died of burn injuries, while still others were injured in the accident.

Earlier, spokesman of state-owned toll operator PT Jasa Marga Tbk Dwimawan Heru had said that no less than 10 vehicles were involved in this lethal accident, adding that the Jasa Marga personnel and traffic policemen assisted in evacuating the dead and wounded from the accident site.

The police officers also helped to manage traffic on the toll road connecting cities in West Java, Heru remarked.

Related news: Three people killed in Jakarta's traffic accident on early Sunday