GENTING HIGHLANDS BUS CRASH: 'We're just glad bus didn't explode'

Investigators from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) examining the wreckage of the bus that plunged into a ravine in Genting Highlands, killing 37 out of its 53 passengers.


A smoking worker nearly sets rescue crew aflame after wreckage started leaking fuel

RESCUE personnel had a close call when the stage bus they were lifting from Wednesday's crash site started leaking fuel.

About 100 firemen and police personnel at the scene reacted immediately to avert another catastrophe.

As soon as the wreckage was laid down on the road after being hauled up by a mammoth crane, diesel started flowing from the fuel tanks onto the road. Recovery personnel scrambled to put sand and earth as well as sawdust from their rescue vehicles to plug the tanks.

Before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, a foreign worker ambled into view with a lit cigarette, risking a massive conflagration, just metres from the wreckage.

An alert policeman shouted at the foreign worker, who immediately stubbed out his cigarette.

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GENTING BUS TRAGEDY: 10 hospitalised victims reported stable

MIROS inspecting the bus that was lifted from the ravine at KM 3.6 Jalan Genting-Kuala Lumpur here in Genting Highlands.

Ten victims of the Wednesday's Genting bus tragedy who were hospitalised at the Selayang and Sungai Buloh hospitals were reported to be in stable condition.

Selayang Hospital director Dr Siti Zaleha Mohd Salleh said all eight victims admitted to the hospital, three locals, three Bangladeshis and two Indonesians, were recovering and that some of them might be discharged soon.

"Some have been placed in the orthopaedic and surgical wards, depending on the nature of their injuries.

"As of last night, all eight are still being treated at this hospital although we have been informed that some of the foreign nationals want to be transferred to private hospitals," she said when contacted by Bernama.

On Wednesday, three of those admitted were reported to be in critical condition and the rest semi-critical.


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GENTING BUS TRAGEDY: Wreckage of bus lifted

The bus that was involved in the recent accident in Genting being inspected by Puspakom and the Road Transport Department (JPJ).Picture shows the police and the Fire and Rescue Department lifting the wreckage of the bus that was involved in an accident in Genting Highlands





The police along with the Fire and Rescue Department today lifted the wreckage from the scene with the use of one crane and two trailers.

Bentong OCPD, Superintendent Mohd Mansor Mohd Nor said the bus would first be inspected at the scene of the accident and later inspected again at the Bentong police headquarters for a final analysis.

"We are unsure on how long the operation will take. There was heavy rain this morning, and the land might not be able to accommodate the weight.

"The ground is also uneven, so if the engineers feel that it's unsafe, we will halt the operation," he said.

Meanwhile 31 out of 37 bodies involved in the Genting bus crash have been identified.

Mansor said 20 out of the 31 identified bodies have been claimed. The claimed bodies were of 11 Chinese men, seven Chinese women, one Malay man and a Indonesian man.

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GENTING BUS TRAGEDY: Families console each other 37 deaths

SOMBRE MOOD AT HOSPITAL: Tears flow freely as loved ones gather to say goodbye to those who died in crash

KUALA LUMPUR: PARENTS wailed openly over the deaths of their children. Over to one side, in a quiet corner, a couple huddled together, the wife trying her best to console her husband, his head buried in his hands, tears dropping in a steady stream.

The mood at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary yesterday was sombre, the air laden with despair and hopelessness as the families of the 37, who died in the country's worst bus crash, gathered to claim the remains of their loved ones.

At the hospital's forensics department, Lee Siew Ying stared blankly. Her face was that of a mother's whose heart had been shattered into a million pieces by the death of her son, Sia Chin Shin, 22, whom she described as "a loving son".


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37 dead in Genting bus crash

Thirty seven people were killed in Malaysia's worst road tragedy, after a bus carrying 53 plunged into a ravine near Genting Highlands on Wednesday.

37 dead, 16 injured in Malaysia’s worst accident

Thirty-seven people have been confirmed dead in Malaysia's worst road accident when a bus plunged into a 200-foot deep ravine as it made its way down from the Genting Highlands resort in Pahang this afternoon.

Rescuers gave the death toll as police dog units scoured the undergrowth in the ravine for any more survivors of the accident that happened just before 3pm, some four km from the popular hill resort. The driver, in his 40s, also died in the accident, police said.

The 16 passengers who were rescued, 10 men and six women, were sent to hospitals in Selayang, Kuala Lumpur, Sungai Buloh and Bentong. Some of them suffered severe injuries, said authorities.

There were a total of 53 people in the bus which came from the resort, 55km away from Kuala Lumpur. Initial reports had put the total number aboard the bus at 49.

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Express bus plunges down Genting ravine, death toll now at 37

An express bus carrying 49 passengers has plunged 30 metres into a ravine, some 2km from the Chin Swee Caves Temple en route to Kuala Lumpur near Genting Highlands resort today.Rescuers have so far pulled out 16 people and one body from the wreckage.Two rescue personnels using a crane to get down into the ravine in order to bring the victims up.



Thirty-seven people died in a horrific bus crash near mountain resort Genting Highlands today, in what is arguably the worst road accident involving an express bus in recent years.

Citing Fire and Rescue Department deputy director-general Datuk Soiman Jahid, The Star Online reported that the dead were among 53 passengers who were on board the bus when it plunged down a thirty meter ravine at around 3pm.

Soiman confirmed that 41 of the passengers, including survivors, had been pulled out of the wreckage as at 8.50pm.

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Fire destroys seven squatter houses in Sentul market -

A fire destroyed at least seven squatter houses in Kampung Chubadak, Sentul Pasar, here last night, dealing a blow to the Aidilfitri celebrations of the occupants.

No one was injured in the fire, said the Sentul Fire and Rescue Station.

Firemen who rushed to the area after being summoned at 9.52 pm had much difficulty fighting the blaze as the houses were close to one another, resulting in the fire spreading fast, it said.

"We have yet to determine the exact number of houses destroyed or damaged. We are gathering the occupants, many of whom have returned to their villages to celebrate Aidilfitri," said station chief Zahari Mohamad.

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Toy store gutted in fire

Firemen putting out a blaze that engulfed a toy store in Jalan Siow Loong Hin, Seremban on Saturday.


A toy store in Jalan Siow Loong Hin here caught fire on Saturday night.

However, no casualties were reported in the 9pm incident as the store was unoccupied at the time.

Owner Chai Ching Shin said he had closed the shop after turning off the main switch at 5:30pm before going home.

"I was shocked upon receiving a call from a former employee of mine, who told me that my store was ablaze," he said.

He estimated his losses at between RM300,000 to RM500,000.

The fire had razed both the shop's third and second storeys by the time Chai, who lives at Taman Bukit Kepayang, arrived at the scene.

A team of 26 firemen received an alert at 9.46pm, and arrived at the scene seven minutes later.

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IGP dismayed by reckless driving that led to policemen losing leg

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar expressed his dismay over the reckless driving, which led to a patrol policemen losing his right leg.

Advising motorists to practice safe driving habits, Khalid also offered his sympathies to Insp Farid Hasni Mamat, attached to the Malacca Tengah district police headquarters.

"He (Insp Hasni) was on duty for the Kuala Besut by-election.

"I am still stunned by the dangerous driving of the 19-year-old youth. He has been detained to facilitate investigations," he said in a statement on Thursday.

He added the thoughts and prayers of the police force is with Insp Farid.

Meanwhile, recalling the horrific incident, Insp Farid's colleague, Asst Supt Zainalabidin Othman said both of them had finished checking voting centres in SK Alor Peroi and they were heading to SK Kampung Baru when the incident occurred at about 4.40pm on Wednesday.

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Boy dies in lift accident

His head was trapped between elevator ceiling and third floor

KUALA LUMPUR: A FAMILY'S anticipation of a joyous Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration this year was shattered when their son died in a freak elevator accident.

Khairul Amir Azri Lani, 11, died after his head and neck got stuck between the elevator ceiling and the building's third floor at Block 8 of the PPR Desa Tun Razak flats at 12.50pm yesterday.

The SK Bandar Tasik Selatan pupil had boarded the elevator with his friends after finishing school for the day.

Khairul Amir had wanted to get off at the third floor, where his grandmother lives, when the elevator stopped halfway between the second and third floor.

"The inner and outer doors were wide open but the car was in between floors. The car began to descend when one of his friends attempted to clamber through the opening," said witness Mohd Noor Asyriq Mohd Zafridin, 17.

He said his friend managed to grab the boy before Khairul Amir attempted to do the same.

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Assistant minister escapes unscathed in test drive gone wrong

A four-wheel drive vehicle carrying an assistant minister and two other passengers overturned when a test drive stunt went wrong at Travillion Mall here.

The mishap occurred at the opening of the Great Wall Tour of Borneo’s final leg to promote the China-made Great Wall vehicles.

Assistant Youth Minister Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, who was taken on a test spin around the venue after launching the event, was sitting in the front passenger seat while Green Oranges Sales and Services Sdn Bhd chief executive SM Mohd Azli SM Nasimuddin and YLH Autoworld Sdn Bhd executive director Hong Boon Pau were in the back seat.

The vehicle was doing a fast reverse spin when one of its rear wheels rose off the ground. It then rolled over and landed on its side, the front windshield and driver’s window were smashed.

Abdul Karim, Azli and Hong emerged unhurt but the driver suffered some cuts on his head and was brought to hospital.

Relating the incident, Abdul Karim said he thought the driver had been a little “overzealous” while reversing.

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Lorry topples onto house

The lorry lying on its side after it tipped over, causing damage to part of Rohani Wan Chik’s (inset) house.



Homeowner shocked to see roof, wall and porch collapse

TELUK INTAN: A 54-YEAR-OLD single mother cheated death when a lorry unloading asphalt in front of her house tipped to the side and crashed into the premises.

Recalling the 10.30am incident in Jalan Jawa, here, yesterday, Rohani Wan Chik said she had been watching lorries carry away old asphalt and unload new asphalt in front of the house.

"After the first lorry took away the old asphalt, I went into the house.

"Not long after that, I heard a loud crash, which shook the house."

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Evacuated residents return home

The Sepang Municipal Council ordered the evacuation of all residents of Block 5 of the Taman Permata Dengkil flats after checks found the building unsafeposed a serious danger because of massive cracks. The Sepang Municipal Council ordered the residents to move out on Tuesday evening after thorough checks by council officers on the building found out that the cracks could pose a serious danger to them.DENGKIL 12 JUNE 2013. Penduduk diminta mengosongkan rumah di Blok 5 Flat Taman Permata, Dengkil.

Experts deem building safe after thorough evaluation

SEPANG: MORE than 250 families living in Block B of the Taman Permata Dengkil flats were temporarily evacuated for two days after the building was deemed unsafe.

They were moved to the Dengkil multipurpose hall on Tuesday evening as a precautionary measure by local authorities.

However, they were allowed to go home yesterday after the Sepang Municipal Council assured them the building was still safe.

Sepang Council president Mohd Sayuthi Bakar said the temporary evacuation was done because they feared for the residents' safety.

"We are not experts and we felt that their safety was more important, which is why we evacuated them," he said, adding residents were allowed to return following discussions between experts from the Public Works Department and the Malaysian Public Works Institute (Ikram), which determined that the structure of the building was strong and the foundation solid.

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Bridge workers not registered

Deputy Works Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin (right) visiting the site of the collapsed Second Penang Bridge ramp in Batu Maung yesterday



Contractor of the collapsed Second Penang Bridge ramp may face action

KEPALA BATAS: THE contractor of the collapsed Second Penang Bridge ramp in Batu Maung may face action for not registering its workers with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB).

State CIDB director Raslim Salleh said initial investigations revealed that some of the workers at the construction site of Package 3A of the bridge intersection project were not registered with the board.

Raslim said under CIDB Malaysia Act 1994 (Act 520), workers at construction sites must have Industrial Personnel Registration Cards or "Green Cards" to prove that they were registered with the CIDB.

"Our initial investigation revealed that some of the workers at the construction site did not have the Green Card and thus the contractor concerned may face action for not registering their workers with the CIDB as stipulated under the Act 520," he told pressmen after leading a joint-operation with state Immigration Department and Health Department at a construction site in Bertam, here, yesterday.

The three-day joint operations, which began yesterday, was to ensure that contractors adhered to CIDB's regulations by registering their workers with the board and not hiring illegal workers.

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SECOND BRIDGE PENANG COLLAPSE: Widow recalls final picnic with husband, children Read more: SECOND BRIDGE PENANG COLLAPSE: Widow recalls final picnic with husband, children

Sharifah Ramli relating her sadness over the death of her husband yesterday.

"I will never forget our last family picnic in Taman Perbandaran Pulau Pinang last week.

"Those precious moments that we spent with our children seems like a dream now that he has left us," said Sharifah Ramli, 40.

Her husband, Tajudin Zainal Abidin, was killed when the 30m ramp of the Second Penang Bridge collapsed on Thursday.

The body of 45-year-old Tajudin, a former policeman, was extricated from his mangled Perodua Kelisa more than 24 hours later. After her husband's burial at the Batu 39 Muslim cemetery in Bukit Merah near here at 3am yesterday, Sharifah said she was still coming to terms with Tajudin's death.

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Penang ramp collapse: Scaffolding inadequate, says expert

The collapse of a section of the ramp connecting the second Penang bridge to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway could have been caused by inadequate scaffolding, according to an expert.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) School of Housing Building and Planning professor of engineering construction Dr Mahyuddin Ramli said that when designing scaffolding, contractors should adhere to international codes of practice.

“The scaffolding must be able to withstand the superstructure and horizontal loads as well as the additional hydraulic pressure of fresh cement,” he said yesterday.

He said concrete in its fluid form would add load on the scaffolding.

“It takes five hours for the concrete to harden before it can carry its own weight.

“Before that, it relies on the scaffolding to hold it in place,” he said, cautioning contractors to never underestimate the importance of scaffolding.


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Penang ramp collapse: Body of ex-cop retrieved from rubble

Police retrieved a body of a former policeman from a crushed Perodua Kelisa buried under the rubble of a collapsed section of a ramp at the second Penang bridge's Batu Maung interchange.

State deputy police chief Senior Asst Comm Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar said the body of Tajudin Zainal Abidin (pic), 45, was found slumped over the dashboard of the car in the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

Rescuers begin extricating the body at 4.30pm. The process took four hours.

A relative of the victim was so shocked by the sight of the body that he fainted. He was carried away on a stretcher and taken to the Penang Hospital.

The body was sent to the Penang Hospital mortuary.

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Traffic slow-moving but under control as school holidays end

Traffic flow on several main expressways in the country is reported slow following an increase in vehicles with school holidays coming to an end Sunday.

A traffic spokesman for the Malaysian Highway Authority (MHA) said as of 5pm Saturday, traffic flow was slow in the West coast, while in the East cost, the situation at the Karak Expressway and the East Coast Expressway was under control.

He said at the North-South Expressway (PLUS), traffic flow was slow at the Penang bridge exit to Seberang Jaya since 4.30pm due to an increase in the number of vehicles using the bridge.

"In the Klang Valley area, traffic is still under control," he said.

Meanwhile, PLUS, in a statement posted on its Facebook, said an accident occurred at Km139.6 (Southbound) about 5pm, but no lane was closed and traffic was under-control, although slow moving.

SECOND BRIDGE RAMP COLLAPSE: Body in Kelisa recovered

The body of Tajudin Zainal Abidin, 45, who was trapped in a Perodua Kelisa, was extricated by rescue workers at 8:50pm, after more than 24 hours following the collapse of the Second Penang Bridge ramp.
Tajudin, a former policeman, lived in Permatang Damar Laut near the accident site and was believed to be heading to his home at the time.


Tajuddin’s brother who was on the site at the time of extrication, broke down into tears before fainting moments later.

The Fire and rescue workers were seen lifting the body from the rubble and placing it on a stretcher before loading it into a Black Maria to be transported to the Penang Hospital.

Tajuddin’s brother, who was unconscious, was also taken to the hospital.

Meanwhile, forensic pathologist Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh who performed the post mortem, said Tajudin died as a result of traumatic asphyxia due to crush injuries of the chest.

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