PRESENT POINT POWER

Latest UPDATE: Mon, 20th Nov 06; 16:31pm

4 Malaysians DIED (all from MUAR, While Waiting Outside) Stalled Bus Rammed by Fast Trailer on CHON BURI-PATATAYA Highway in THAILAND; Father & Son & 2 Women.

Our national Puspakom should check buses and certified them fit for traveling outside Malaysia as tour buses. Most probably this is one of those BAS Sekolah (suitable for doing short errands during School terms) BUT totally unsuitable and UNfit for prolong journeys and used as “low budget tour carrier.

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Four Malaysians Die In Accident In Thailand; November 20, 2006 16:06 PM

By D. Arul Rajoo
CHON BURI, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- A year-end family tour turned into tragedy when four Malaysians were killed while another 16 were injured after their tour bus was rammed by a trailer here yesterday. The dead are Tan Lee Cheng, 42, her 14-year-old son, Goh Sze Chuan, and two more women passengers, Goh Gek Lang,56 and Yee Chai Chow, 61. All are from Muar, Johor.

Fifteen of the injured are Michell Phua, Lim Pan, 56, Phua Kam Lian, 63, Cynthla Phua, 12, Phua Kam Lai, 47, Ng Hiok Ann, 41, Heng Heong Cher, 50, Phua Bee Kian, 48, Heng Wee Harn, 19, Heng Wee Harn, 19, Phua Kam Huat, 54, Chua Kuang Hua, 60, Lee Voo Kee, 70, Soh Kang Chuang, 60, and Tan Ah Cheok, 59. The last victim's name has yet to be disclosed. Three of the passengers have been warded in a private hospital here while the rest were given outpatient treatment.

The bus was carrying 20 Malaysians and a local tour guide when it broke down on the Chon Buri-Pattaya highway around 5pm. Insurance agent Ng Hiok Ann, 41, said they arrived in Bangkok three days ago for a week-long holiday and were travelling to Pattaya when the incident happened. "After an overnight stay in Kanchanaburi, we had lunch in Bangkok before heading to Pattaya.

The bus broke down twice on the way but the driver managed to repair it but could not do anything when it stalled again near Chon Buri," she said. As it was very hot, some of the passengers decided to wait outside as the bus was parked by the roadside. "But suddenly someone shouted that a trailer was coming very fast. It happened so fast that we did not realise that the trailer had rammed the bus and those waiting outside," she said. Ng said all the dead was those waiting outside, including Tan, who was standing besides her. "They all had head injuries. The rest of us were lucky to be alive, those in the bus had slight injuries," said Ng whose husband, Phua Kam Lai, a brother in-law and sister-in-law were warded for serious injuries. Ng, whose three children were inside the bus, said this was the first time that all the family members decided to go on a group tour together. Lee said his wife, Yee, was conscious after the accident but he could not pull her out from the trailer. "I tried to pull her out but couldn't. The tow truck came very late to pull her out," he said.A Malaysian embassy official said they were making arrangements with the Thai tour company hired by the family to bring back the bodies.
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Another coming down Genting Highlands crash for a bus. A 2km jam ensured after the 10.00 am mishap.

But do not be afraid to take holidays or a break up highland resorts. If you become so frightened of realities that are not your own; if you take upon yourselves tragedies that do not exist in YOUR reality, in your moment, you weaken your position in life. You must operate from strength, not from weakness.

When you stand on a firm shore, you can extend your arm to the man that is in quicksand. You cannot help him by leaping into the quicksand with him, for surely both of you will go down, and he will not thank you. Organize your reality according to your strength. Organize your reality according to your playfulness, according to your dreams, according to your hopes, and then you can help those who organize their reality according to their fearsABOVE: The Double-Decker Bus crash landed to the hill slopes on its right side due to brakes failure; BELOW - Rescue workers figuring out the best positions for the crane cable to right back the bus

BATANG KALI, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- Three people were killed and 44 others injured, 15 of them seriously, when a double-decker tour bus with employees of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand crashed into a hillslope and overturned at Km 13 of Jalan Genting-Batang Kali.

ABOVE: A front view of the bus in distress; BELOW - the slightly injured sitting by the roadside

One of the dead was PEA managing director Decha Nilmanee, 59, who died as he was being rushed to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL). The other two were Nong Nuch Pochana, 45, a woman who died on the spot, and Chanadech Kaukew, 27, who succumbed to his injuries while on the way to the Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital (KKKB).

ABOVE & BELOW: The seriously injured being taken away on stretchers

Fifteen other passengers, who suffered serious injuries, were rushed to the Pantai Hospital in Kuala Lumpur. The others, who sustained slight injuries, were given out-patient treatment and accommodated at the Seri Pacific Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Two Malaysians, who are employees of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) in Ipoh and were travelling in the bus, were also slightly injured in the 10 am accident.

ABOVE & BELOW: Another two of the seriously injured being given immediate assistance before being ferried away

The accident occurred as it was returning to southern Thailand with 45 PEA employees and two drivers who had spent the weekend at Genting Highlands. One of the passengers, Zubaidas Siri Wanno, 28, said at the HKKB that she believed the brakes failed and the bus hit the hillslope, skidded and overturned.

"I was seated in the middle of the bus. Those who suffered serious injuries were among the ones seated near the door," she said. Zubaidas, who was slightly injured, said the group had arrived in Kuala Lumpur yesterday morning and had spent the night at Genting Highlands. Another passenger, Hamdee Hayee Saesalae, 32, said he was seated on the upper deck and he felt the bus descending the hill too fast. "The driver did apply the brakes but failed to slow down the bus, causing him to lose control of the vehicle.

ABOVE: The bus in the process of being tilted back upright and BELOW- Finally uprighted; bringing down the tree branches from its roof top

It crashed into the hillslope and overturned," he said. Hamdee, who injured his nose, said he was shocked by the experience as it was his first despite having come to Malaysia several times.

ABOVE: The ambulances from Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital (KKBH) & Genting Highlands were "all hands on deck" taking the injured to KKBH and the serious ones to Pantai Hospital in KL; BELOW: One of the Thai victim undergone transformation

Meanwhile, Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) Ipoh Regional Manager Aminnuddin Ab Wahab, who visited the passengers warded at HKKB, said the accident came as a shock to him because it was only last Friday that he had met the group when they visited the Ipoh TNB. "They had arrived in Malaysia last Friday and paid a courtesy call at the Ipoh TNB before going to Kuala Lumpur," he added.

ABOVE & BELOW: The sleepy hollow in KKBH was alive when the injured arrived

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… and here is the STAR’s account with other details and ONLY 13 seriously injured

Three killed in bus crash 13 into hillslope; Monday November 20, 2006

KUALA KUBU BARU: Three Thailand Provincial Electricity Authority (TPEA) employees were killed and 13 seriously injured, when their double-decker luxury bus skidded and crashed into a hillslope before landing on its side at the 12th kilometre of the Gohtong Jaya-Batang Kali road here. They were among the 45 TPEA personnel members who were in Malaysia for training at the Tenaga Nasional (TNB) offices in Ipoh and Putrajaya. Eighteen other TPEA staff members suffered various injuries while 11 escaped unhurt. The Thai bus driver and co-driver were also unhurt in the 10.20am incident yesterday. The Thais had arrived in Genting Highlands on Saturday night after meeting TNB officials in Ipoh and Putrajaya.

CRASH SCENE: Some of the crash victims lying by the side of the Gohtong Jaya-Batang Kali road in Kuala Kubu Baru yesterday while rescuers work at the accident site. Among the dead were TPEA managing director Decha Nilmanee, 59, who died on the way to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital from the Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital. The other two dead were identified as accountant Nongnuch Pochana, 45, and engineer Chanadat Karkaew, 27. Nongnuch, a mother of two children, was killed on the spot while Chanadat died on the way to the Kuala Kubu Baru Hospital. The bus had left Genting Highlands at about 10am on its way back to Haadyai. Barely 20 minutes later, the driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a sharp corner. The driver, who did not want to reveal his name, said he stepped hard on the brakes but the bus did not slow down. “I tried to control the bus. But everything happened so fast – the bus hit the side of the hill before landing on its side,” he said in a choking voice when met at the scene of the accident. Three fire engines with 18 men from the Genting Highlands, Bentong and Kuala Kubu Baru fire stations arrived at the scene within minutes after receiving a distress call at 10.25am. The firemen, with the help of several TNB personnel members, managed to pull out the passengers after breaking the windscreen of the bus. They injured were rushed to hospitals in Kuala Kubu Baru and Selayang in several ambulances. The accident caused a 2km traffic jam on both sides of the road. A crane was used to put the bus back on its wheels at 2pm. According to police, the bus driver and his co-driver have yet to lodge a police report on the accident.