Deadly Indonesia traffic jam

This item appears on page 62 of the September 2016 issue.

On the island of Java in Indonesia, at least 12 people died during a 3-day traffic jam in early July. The 13-mile-long traffic jam at the westbound toll plaza near the town of Brebes was caused by a combination of roadwork and the large number of people traveling west, in the direction of Jakarta, on the weekend after the Eid al-Fitr holiday. 

Most of those who died succumbed to heat and exhaustion, with one reportedly dying of carbon monoxide poisoning from exhaust fumes.