Can a traffic jam kill you? No, it can’t, Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan has said.

The minister, responsible for ensuring that the Idul Fitri mass exodus, or mudik, goes smoothly, rebuffed media reports that 12 mudik travelers had died due to exhaustion after being stuck in massive traffic jams for hours in Brebes, Central Java.

“There is no way a traffic jam can kill people. That’s impossible,” the minister said on Wednesday.

He argued that people who passed away while stuck in a traffic must have suffered from certain illnesses and that the heat of the traffic may have exacerbated their ailments.

“Some say [this is because they were] caught in a traffic jam for 12 hours. Well, how long is fasting? I think it’s more than 12 hours and [people] are okay. [And what these people do] is just sit there,” he said. “I think the victims already suffered from a disease.”

Previously, it was reported that the Brebes Health Agency had recorded 18 deaths related to the ongoing Idul Fitri mass exodus. “Five of them died because of accidents, one because of another reason, and 12 because of traffic jams,” agency head Sri Gunadi Parwoko said as quoted by mediaindonesia.com.

The agency said some travelers died while still on buses and some died on the way to the hospital after passing out when they got off the bus.

The city of Brebes is in the spotlight this year due to a heavy traffic jam stretching more than 20 kilometers and lasting for 12 hours near the East Brebes exit, dubbed “Brexit,” on the Pejagan-Brebes toll road. According to the agency, some travelers died after being caught in “Brexit” traffic. (ary)