The bus, traveling from the capital Jakarta to Yogyakarta, was reportedly moving at a “fairly high” speed as it approached a turn at a highway interchange, according to Budiono, head of the local search and rescue agency, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
The accident prompted emergency responders to rush to the scene.
It overturned after colliding with the road barrier.
"We … have evacuated 34 people," said Budiono, who goes by one name.
He added that 15 people were pronounced dead at the scene, while another person died in hospital.
Several victims were transported to the city of Semarang for treatment, he said.
Footage shared by the agency showed rescuers moving a victim into a body bag as the nearby bus lay on its side.
🔴 Passenger bus crash in Indonesia kills at least 16 people, official says
— News.Az (@news_az) December 22, 2025
A passenger bus crash killed at least 16 people on Indonesia’s main island of Java just after midnight Monday, officials said.
The bus carrying 34 people lost control on a toll road and struck a… pic.twitter.com/ikkIzzohPp
Transport accidents are common in Indonesia, a vast Southeast Asian archipelago where vehicles are often old and poorly maintained and road rules are regularly flouted.
In 2024, at least 12 people were killed when a car crashed into a bus and another car on a busy highway as people travelled to celebrate Eid al-Fitr.
And in 2019, at least 35 people were killed when a bus plunged into a ravine on the western island of Sumatra.
