Nearly 600 die in road accidents during 2-week Islamic holiday in Indonesia

Jakarta: Indonesian police say traffic accidents have killed nearly 600 people during the two-week holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

In one accident Saturday, a bus collision killed nine vacationers. West Java police spokesman Dade Ahmad said 12 others were hurt in the crash in Subang district, south of Jakarta.

Sergeant Wahyono of the country's central traffic information service said Sunday that 1,545 accidents were reported during the holiday, when millions of Indonesians return to their home villages. He said 596 people died.

Road accidents are common on the crowded and poorly maintained highways of Indonesia, a vast nation of 235 million people.