Karawang. The driver of a passenger bus involved in a deadly three-vehicle pile-up along the Cikampek toll road on Monday recounted the accident, stating it began when a minibus suddenly appeared from the opposite direction, making collision inevitable.

At least 12 people, including seven men and five women, died in the incident, which occurred during crowded traffic ahead of the Eid al-Fitr holidays. The Daihatsu Granmax minibus burst into flames upon impact, and another car, a Daihatsu Terrios, also caught fire after becoming trapped in the middle.

The driver of the Primajasa bus, identified only as Heri, described the minibus suddenly appearing in front and colliding head-on with the bus at 7:04 a.m.

"I attempted to avoid the crash by moving to the left, but then felt another impact from the left side in the rear of the bus," Heri said.

Prior to the incident, authorities had temporarily divided the road into two lanes to accommodate the sharply increasing eastbound traffic from Jakarta during the holiday season.

The minibus was using the extra lane separated only by traffic cones when the collision occurred at the toll road’s 58th kilometer.

The Primajasa bus and the Daihatsu Terios behind it were heading west to Jakarta.

Amateur videos from travelers posted on social media corroborated Heri’s statement, showing the minibus dangerously crossing the cone barriers and traveling in the opposite direction, leading to the collision.

Head of the National Traffic Police Corps, Inspector General Aan Suhanan, confirmed that all the fatalities were from the minibus, which was reduced to ashes.

Most of the deceased suffered severe burns, complicating the identification process.

"The exact cause of the instant blaze is under investigation," he said.

According to the Transportation Ministry, more than 800,000 vehicles have left Jakarta via the Cikampek toll road in the past few days.

All the bodies were taken to the Karawang Municipal Hospital for identification.

National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who visited the hospital, said families of the victims had arrived to claim the bodies. Two victims were identified from their ID cards, which indicated addresses in Ciamis and Bogor, West Java.

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