Many casualties expected in multi-vehicle accident in Indonesia

Jakarta: A multi-vehicle accident occurred on Monday afternoon in Purwakarta regency, West Java province in Indonesia, leaving an uncertain number of casualties and causing significant disruptions on the route between Bandung and Jakarta.

According to authorities, the crash occurred on the Cipularang Toll Road at Kilometre 92 in the regency at around 3:30 p.m. local time, and was allegedly triggered by a heavy truck whose brakes failed, leading it to collide with more than five vehicles ahead, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The brakes failed due to the heavy load, causing the truck to hit the vehicles in front of it," said Senior Commissioner Jules Abraham Abast, head of public relations of the West Java Regional Police.

Lilik Andriansyah, Purwakarta police chief, confirmed the incident, though further details on the exact timeline and victim count have yet to be released.

Following the accident, West Java Regional Police dispatched around 10 officers to the scene, who were tasked with managing the site, evacuating victims, and assessing the extent of the damage.

Videos circulating online show multiple vehicles piled up and some heavily damaged, with rescuers seen helping evacuate individuals from the wreckage.

The exact number of vehicles involved and the total number of victims are still under investigation as police continue to survey the scene.