Nine of at least 11 children died in a horrific bus crash in Indonesia after a “brake malfunction” occurred on the way to school

NINE children are among 11 killed in a horrific bus crash caused by an apparent brake failure.

The group – mostly made up of students – was on their way to a graduation trip when the vehicle crashed into oncoming traffic.

Officials in West Java said dozens more were injured and it is believed there were 60 passengers on board.

The bus was taking the group from the town of Depok on the island of Java to Lembang before Saturday’s deadly pileup.

The students had just graduated and were on a school trip when the bus suddenly lost control, veered sharply to the left and collided with a car and three motorcycles.

Jules Abraham Abast, West Java provincial police spokesman, said: “Among the deceased passengers were nine students and one of them a teacher.”

The accident left one motorcyclist dead, 13 people seriously injured and 40 others sustained minor injuries, he added.

It is suspected that the bus’s brake was defective before it lost control, but Abast said police were still investigating the cause of the accident, the traffic police chief told local media.

Shocking images show the completely destroyed bus on the side of the road as a worried crowd gathers around the wreckage.

Fatal traffic accidents are common in Indonesia because vehicles are often old or poorly maintained and traffic rules are routinely ignored.

Last month, at least 12 people were killed when a car collided with a bus and another car on a busy highway in West Java as people were traveling to meet relatives on Eid al- Fit to celebrate.

And in 2022, a tanker truck plowed into a group of motorcyclists in Indonesia, reportedly killing at least 25 people.

The Pertamina tanker crashed into a dozen motorcycles and other vehicles at a busy intersection near the capital Jakarta on July 18, injuring dozens of people.

Harrowing footage showed the aftermath of the catastrophic collision as rescue workers searched for survivors.

At least 25 people are believed to have been killed when the huge truck plowed into the group.

Their vehicles could be seen scattered across the road – and victims of the horrific accident were also reportedly crushed under the tanker.