The reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia land border has meant that cheap holidays across the Causeway can resume once again.
However, they’re not without their risks, as bus accidents in Malaysia involving Singaporeans are also recurring.
The latest crash happened when a tour bus travelling to Singapore overturned in Kuala Lumpur (KL).
Source: Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
As a result, 19 people were taken to hospital.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (21 Jul), Bomba Kuala Lumpur — i.e. the Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia in KL — said they were alerted to the incident around midnight, at 12.17am that morning.
They dispatched officers to the location, on the Damansara Highway in KL.
Upon arrival, they found a two-storey express bus travelling from Ipoh had crashed and flipped over onto its side.
The officers, who comprised personnel from the fire station and Malaysia Civil Defence Force, had to break the front windscreen of the bus to free the passengers trapped inside, reported the Shin Min Daily News.
Source: Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
There were a total of 26 people in the bus, Bomba Kuala Lumpur said, while Shin Min reported that 24 of them were passengers and the remaining two were drivers.
Source: Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
Of these, 19 passengers were sent to hospital for treatment.
Source: Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
Five other passengers and the two drivers were unhurt, and went to the police station to assist with investigations.
The police also confirmed to Shin Min that a six-year-old Singaporean girl was on board.
Thankfully, she was unhurt.
It’s understood that she was accompanied on the bus by a Malaysian.
The rest of the passengers were also Malaysians.
According to the police, the crash happened because the bus lost control.
After it overturned, it hit the road divider.
Source: Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
The police are currently investigating the case under Section 43(1) of the Transport Act 1987, pertaining to careless driving causing an accident.
From photos shared by Bomba Kuala Lumpur, the officers managed to get the bus upright again, revealing that it belongs to bus operator Sri Maju.
Source: Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
The Malaysian company operates services between Singapore and Malaysia.
A Sri Maju spokesman told Shin Min that they sent over another bus for the passengers once they heard of the accident.
They also sent staff to the scene and the hospital to help passengers and assist with the police investigation.
All the injures suffered by passengers were minor, and as of Thursday (21 Jul), two of them were still in hospital.
However, they were uncertain how many passengers they ended up transporting back to Singapore, as some had left on their own.
The accident on Thursday comes just over one week after another bus accident near Genting Highlands on 13 Jul.
The vehicle collided with a lorry on the Karak Expressway, resulting in five people being warded, including four Singaporeans.
The tour bus was carrying 20 people travelling from Singapore to Genting.
The number of bus accidents will inevitably rise as cross-border travel returns to normal.
Thankfully, no fatalities ensued during the recent crashes despite the injuries suffered.
MS News wishes those affected a swift recovery.
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Featured image adapted from Bomba Kuala Lumpur on Facebook.
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