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28 die in Malaysia tour bus tragedy
Source: Agencies |
December 21, 2010, Tuesday
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A DOUBLE-decker bus carrying Thai tourists overturned on a Malaysian highway yesterday, killing 28 people on their way back from a hill resort in the country's worst road accident in years.
The tourists were heading to Kuala Lumpur after a weekend trip to the popular Cameron Highlands in central Malaysia when their bus span out of control and crashed into a protective barrier, a district police official said.
The bus then flipped over and landed beside a rocky slope, he said.
Photographs of the site showed the wrecked bus in a shallow ditch, with its tires and passengers' belongings scattered around. Bodies covered with black sheets were placed beside the road.
The accident may have been caused by speeding or brake failure, the official said.
Rescuers recovered 22 bodies, and another six people died after being taken to hospital, he said. Twelve other passengers were injured.
The bus was reportedly operated by San Holiday -Express, a Malaysian-based tour company.
Its managing director, Sor Eng Hock, told Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, he was "very shocked and sad," adding that the company had never been involved in a major accident.
Malaysian highways have a speed limit of 110 kilometers per hour, but speeding is common and many drivers do not abide traffic laws. Many bus accidents have been blamed on companies that hire poorly trained or unlicensed drivers, some of whom reportedly use drugs to keep them awake.
Those killed in yesterday's crash included three Malaysians - the bus driver, his assistant and a tour guide - the police official said. All of the other victims are reported to have been Thai.
Malaysia's worst previous bus crash was in 2007, when an express bus hit boulders on a highway, killing 22.
The tourists were heading to Kuala Lumpur after a weekend trip to the popular Cameron Highlands in central Malaysia when their bus span out of control and crashed into a protective barrier, a district police official said.
The bus then flipped over and landed beside a rocky slope, he said.
Photographs of the site showed the wrecked bus in a shallow ditch, with its tires and passengers' belongings scattered around. Bodies covered with black sheets were placed beside the road.
The accident may have been caused by speeding or brake failure, the official said.
Rescuers recovered 22 bodies, and another six people died after being taken to hospital, he said. Twelve other passengers were injured.
The bus was reportedly operated by San Holiday -Express, a Malaysian-based tour company.
Its managing director, Sor Eng Hock, told Malaysia's national news agency, Bernama, he was "very shocked and sad," adding that the company had never been involved in a major accident.
Malaysian highways have a speed limit of 110 kilometers per hour, but speeding is common and many drivers do not abide traffic laws. Many bus accidents have been blamed on companies that hire poorly trained or unlicensed drivers, some of whom reportedly use drugs to keep them awake.
Those killed in yesterday's crash included three Malaysians - the bus driver, his assistant and a tour guide - the police official said. All of the other victims are reported to have been Thai.
Malaysia's worst previous bus crash was in 2007, when an express bus hit boulders on a highway, killing 22.
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