Monday October 11, 2010

‘Bus was going way too fast’, claim passengers

SEREMBAN: The express bus, which crashed into a guardrail and rammed onto the path of oncoming vehicles near the Simpang Ampat toll plaza, was going very fast at the time of the accident.

Nurshazwina Nordin, 23, who was onboard the bus, said she was almost flung out of the vehicle due to the impact.

“Other motorists who stopped to help us hurried us away from the bus as they were afraid it might explode,” she said, adding that she had been sleeping when the accident took place.

Nurshazwina, who was hurt, said she felt the bus was going fast prior to the accident.

Another male bus passenger, in his 20s, claimed that the bus was accelerating before the accident.

Emergency aid: Paramedics rushing a victim to the hospital Sunday.

“I thought he was driving fast for an express bus. I can’t say for sure the speed he was driving at but he seemed to be ahead of all the other vehicles,” he said.

Another injured passenger Nur Najlaa Aqilah Mohd Ghazali, 19, said a loud bang woke her up.

“I felt the bus spinning and before I knew it, we had already crashed through the guardrail and onto the path of oncoming traffic,” she said.

Among the injured was a Japanese tourist, Masatamo Yashade, believed to be a passenger of the ill-fated express bus.

Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital director Dr Ja’afar Che Mat said as at 10.30pm, 24 of the injured had been sent to the hospital for treatment.

He said 16 of the injured in the hospital were females.

“We sent one victim to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital as he suffered from heart ailment. Three others were taken in for immediate surgery,” he said, adding that nine others were sent to the Malacca Hospital.

Dr Ja’afar said the hospital had also sought assistance from personnel at the Port Dickson, Kuala Pilah and Jelebu hospitals.

“We needed more ambulances due to the high number of injured,” he said, adding that the first case was brought in at 8.05pm.

In Malacca Hospital, it is believed that out of the 12 injured being treated there, four are in critical condition, including a 42-year-old woman who is a four and half months pregnant.

The three others suffered from serious spinal, abdominal and head injuries.

It is believed that as at 1.45am, authorities were still trying to identify the bodies, some of which were badly disfigured.

The 52-year-old bus driver, from Klebang Besar, is one of those killed.

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