A tragic accident in northern Malaysia has left at least 15 people dead, AFP reported, after a bus carrying university students collided with a minivan early Monday morning.
Police and emergency responders said the crash occurred near the town of Gerik on the East-West Highway, a known accident-prone route close to the Thai border.
Thirteen people were pronounced dead at the scene, while two more succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Authorities confirmed it was the deadliest road crash in the country in over a decade.
“It looked like the bus had lost control and hit the (minivan) from behind,” said Perak State Police Chief Hisam Nordin, according to AFP.
Photos shared by the fire and rescue department depicted the green university bus overturned on its side with the rear end visibly crushed, while the red minivan had veered into a roadside ditch, its windows shattered.
“Some victims managed to get out on their own, some victims were thrown out while others were still (trapped) in the bus,” read a statement from the Perak state disaster management authority. Rescue teams used hydraulic cutters to extract those pinned inside the wreckage.
Among the dead were 14 students from Sultan Idris Education University and the bus’s lone attendant. Thirty-three others were reported injured, seven of them critically, with victims ranging in age from 21 to 23. The group had been returning from Jerteh in northeastern Malaysia, and the crash happened just after 1am local time.
Police Chief Hisam added that authorities are still determining whether human error or mechanical failure was to blame.
“It was a chaotic scene with students screaming and crying for help,” a witness named Razali told the New Straits Times. “They were pinned between the wreckage.”
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim expressed his condolences and instructed the Higher Education Ministry to assist the families of the victims. He and his wife Azizah shared their sorrow in a public statement.
“Heartbreaking disasters like these that are repeated often should be a lesson to all to be careful and not to rush,” Anwar wrote on Facebook. “Your lives are too precious and can`t be replaced.”
