Genting Highlands is a popular holiday destination for folks living in Singapore. While one can take a plane or drive there themselves, many people prefer to travel by bus due to its convenience and affordability.
Sadly, a group of Singaporeans found their holiday ruined when their tour bus got into an accident on their way there.
Source: APM Daerah Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
The vehicle collided with a lorry on the Karak Expressway in the early hours of Wednesday (13 Jul). Five people were conveyed to the hospital, including four Singaporeans.
Two of them have since been discharged. The other two remain in hospital along with the Malaysian bus driver.
According to The Straits Times (ST), a tour bus carrying 20 people was travelling from Singapore to Genting Highlands when it collided with a lorry on Wednesday morning (13 Jul).
Shin Min Daily News reports that the accident happened at about 5am at the 29km mark of the Karak Expressway.
Source: APM Daerah Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
A reader, Mr Hong, told Shin Min Daily News that he was already in Genting and was supposed to pick up his 60-year-old aunt, her three-year-old grandson, and another female relative on Wednesday morning.
The plan was to help check them into their hotel before returning to Singapore by himself.
However, the crash threw a wrench into their plans.
In a Facebook post, the Malaysia Civil Defence Force (APM) said that it received reports of the accident at 6.30am on 13 Jul.
Photos from the scene showed the damaged bus and paramedics transporting a woman on a stretcher.
Source: APM Daerah Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
A spokesman for bus operator Transtar Travel told ST that four Singaporean passengers and the Malaysian driver were hospitalised. More than 15 of the passengers on board were Singaporean.
Two of the Singaporeans have since returned home, while the other two and the driver remain in hospital.
The victim’s families are the only ones who know the extent of their injuries.
As it turns out, the passengers had actually started their journey at Golden Mile Complex in a different vehicle.
Sometime during the journey, the first bus ran into air-conditioning issues, so they alighted and boarded another one, noted Shin Min Daily.
Mr Hong recalled getting a phone call in the wee hours of the morning from his aunt, who was crying and saying that there had been an accident.
Source: APM Daerah Kuala Lumpur on Facebook
The collision had supposedly left the door of the bus so battered that it could not open, trapping passengers inside for over an hour before the APM rescued them.
Mr Hong’s aunt suffered injuries to her limbs and buttocks, while his other female relative had a nosebleed. Thankfully, the three-year-old child was escaped without any injuries.
At the moment, investigations into the cause of the accident are still underway.
A Transtar Travel spokesperson reportedly claimed that the driver of the second bus is “very experienced”, having worked with them for two decades.
The company has since offered all the passengers full refunds, as well as accommodation in Kuala Lumpur and transport back to Singapore.
Some of them opted to go on to Genting Highlands. Others made their own arrangements to travel home that same day.
It’s bad enough when your vacation runs into problems before it even begins. However, it’s a lot worse when people end up hurt.
We wish the victims a speedy recovery and hope that police will be able to get to the bottom of things.
We also hope that the rest of the passengers were able to enjoy their holiday despite the rocky start.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from APM Daerah Kuala Lumpur on Facebook.
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The driver escaped with no injuries.
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