Monday August 13, 2007

Twenty die, seven injured in bus tragedy (3rd update)

TAIPING: Twenty passengers died when the express bus they were travelling in crashed into a gully at the 229th kilometre of the North-South Expressway near Bukit Berapit, here.

It is learnt that the bus, heading for Alor Star from Malacca, hit the guardrail before crashing into a boulder and landing on its side in a gully next to the expressway in the 4.20am incident on Monday.

The impact tore off the roof of the bus.

The illfated express bus being lifted from the ditch at 229km North-South highway near Bukit Gantang in Taiping - Starpic

Seven of the passengers were injured and they were sent to Taiping Hospital for treatment.

The 20 who died included, six from Malacca, three from Kedah, one from Penang and one from Indonesia.

The names of some of those who died in the crash at 229km of North-South Expressway

(Note: Names obtained from hospital; police have yet to confirm and the rest have yet to be identified)

Police personnel identifying the bodies from the bus accident at the scene - Starpic

1. Fadli Ahmad Jasin, 21, from Malacca

2. Pang Tee Ling, no age, from Malacca

3. Kamis Said, 62, from Malacca

4. Basri (no full name), 62, from Merlimau, Malacca

5. Josli Arshad, 39, from Malacca

6. Mohd Yazid Mohd Yusof, 22, from Malacca

7. T. Krishnan, 46, from Kedah

8. Rohizam Abu Bakar, 48, Kedah

9. Nazrin Noordin, 35, from Air Itam, Penang

10. Abu Bakar S. Ali, no age, from Indonesia

Transport minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy (second from right) and Perak Exco member Datuk Ho Cheng Wang (right) taking a look at the scene of the bus accident. - Starpic

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