[ArrichMer]

INDONESIA - As many as 529 people died in more than 3,000 traffic accidents during this year's holiday exodus, the Transportation Ministry says.

"We recorded a total of 3,452 traffic accidents from eight days before to two days after the Idul Fitri holidays," the ministry's national exodus head Hotma Simanjuntak said Tuesday.

The data also showed that 837 people were severely injured and 2,829 mildly wounded.


Material losses caused by the traffic accidents reached an estimated Rp 5.48 billion (S$712,400).

According to the National Police Traffic Corps, the highest number of traffic accidents occurred in Central Java. On the day before the Idul Fitri holidays, which fell on Sunday and Monday, the corps recorded more than 200 traffic accidents that claimed the lives of 40 travelers, tempo.co reported.

Each year, millions of Indonesian Muslims travel to their hometowns to celebrate the Idul Fitri holidays with their families.