MORE PICS – EXPRESS BUS Plunges into Ravine 7 Killed; Car Plunges into Stream; Family 5 Killed; BOTH Cases trying to AVOID Vehicles after Accident

Were these just "accidents" or perfect timing at the right place and right time? The express bus at Km 254 N-S EXPRESSWAY was trying to avoid a 4_WD and a Kancil Blocking the road and the bus driver not wanting to kill those (their time is not up yet) swerved left and landed into the deep ravine killing 7 (the latest figure)

In the case of the family of 5 in Membau, they also had a similar situation, the driver of the Proton Iswara avoided knocking the stationary trailer and landed on the roof in the 1 m deep stream killing the whole family.

ABOVE: This Minister of Transport (Chan Kong Choy from MCA) has carried out 3 LRT incidents inquiry plus the Langkawai Ferry incident and promised to release them but "don't known when". Too embarrassing?

Now we have the useless Transport Minister coming out again AFTER the bas “accident” called it mishap and saying that an Inquiry would be held with the assistance of JPJ, his Transport Ministry, the Police and most importantly the newly formed (RM20 million) Institute of Road Safety. Isn’t all these waste of time and money (for those involved, going to the scene of accidents & meetings claiming mileage and hotel accommodation etc) Now what can they recommend enhancing road safety and try to play God to prevent all these deaths.

When their souls decided to leave after a certain period of physical life on earth, surely you cannot stop them when they were at the right place and the right time and there are NO ACTUAL causes as there are NO accidents. Even Traffic Chief Datuk Nooryah Md Anvar admitted "It is fated that these accidents happened. These were the last experiences for them and their families to chew on and to evoke their feelings of how much they might miss them after they are gone – the lessons in life.
= == == =
March 09, 2007 23:12 PM

Six Killed, 30 Injured As Bus Plunges Into Ravine;;

ABOVE and BELOW: The express IPOH-TAIPING Bus eventually landed on its roof. Why buses have a tendency to land on its roof, more stable on roof than on the 4 sets of wheels?

KUALA KANGSAR, March 9 (Bernama) -- Six passengers were killed while 30 others were injured when an express bus skidded and plunged into a ravine at KM 254 of the North-South Expressway near the Sungai Perak Rest and Service Area, near here Friday.

Kuala Kangsar OCPD Supt Zakaria Pagan (ABOVE) said five of the injured victims suffered serious injuries and were admitted to the Kuala Kangsar Hospital for treatment. The Ipoh-Taiping express bus, which was believed to be carrying more than 40 passengers, skidded and rammed the steel railing on the left side of the road before plunging into the ravine which was about five metres deep, he said. The accident occurred about 6.30pm as the bus was travelling from Ipoh to Taiping. "Preliminary investigations found that the bus skidded as it was trying to avoid two cars which had collided,"

Zakaria told reporters at the scene tonight. He said all the dead victims had died on the spot and their identities had yet to be determined. The bodies of a Chinese man, three Chinese women, a Malay woman and an Indian woman, aged between 20 and 40, had been sent to the Kuala Kangsar Hospital, he said.

ABOVE & BELOW: The injured were rushed to hospital for treatment

Five victims who suffered serious injuries had been sent to the Ipoh Hospital while the medical team from Kuala Kangsar Hospital and Ipoh Hospital had treated the injured passengers before they were sent to the Kuala Kangsar Hospital. Zakaria said another 15 of the 25 injured passengers were pinned under the overturned bus and a team from the Fire and Rescue Department had to cut the body of the bus to retrieve the victims. He said that so far, three passengers were confirmed to have escaped injuries.

He said the actual number of passengers on the bus could not be ascertained as it was believed several other passengers who had escaped injuries had left the scene. He said the bus driver had also left and had not lodged any police report as of tonight. Zakaria said the accident was being investigated under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 because of careless driving which had resulted in the loss of lives. Meanwhile, a student nurse who survived the accident said she was sitting in the rear seat when the bus suddenly swayed. "All of a sudden I felt the bus was not stable after which it skidded and overturned...everything happend in a split second. Alhamdulillah, I managed to crawl out of the bus unhurt," she said. The passenger, who requested anonymity, said she then helped the injured passengers but most of them could not be taken out as they were pinned under the bus.

Another victim, Mohd Noor Jaafar, 40, said the bus driver tried to avoid two cars which were involved in an accident when it skidded and veered to the left of the road. Mohd Noor, who only sustained minor injuries in the accident, said as soon as the bus hit the steel railing, some passengers screamed and there was pandemonium for several seconds before the bus overturned. He said he was on his way home in Kamunting, Taiping from Ipoh. The accident caused a massive traffic jam stretching about 15 kilometres at the Jelapang Toll Plaza heading south.
= ==
Six killed in accident as bus plunges into ravine; STAR

KUALA KANGSAR: Six passengers of a Taiping-bound express bus were killed when it plunged into a ravine outside the Menora Tunnel along the North-South Expressway yesterday. Three of the victims were identified as Lee Ah Chuan, 53, of Batu Kurau; Chung Keaw @ Cheong Yue Moy, 65, of Kampung Baru Malim Nawar and 22-year-old A. Thanalachumi of Taiping. At press time, the names of the other victims were still not released to the media. Six passengers with serious injuries were warded at the Ipoh Hospital while 15 others who suffered light injuries were sent to the Kuala Kangsar Hospital.

Frantic search: Rescuers searching for passengers trapped inside the wrecked express bus which plunged into the ravine outside the Menora Tunnel on Friday.

Kuala Kangsar OCPD Supt Zakaria Pagan said it was raining when the bus, with 40 passengers on board, went off the road at 6pm. It had left Ipoh about an hour earlier.

Police investigations showed that the bus driver was trying to avoid colliding with two cars involved in an earlier accident. He lost control and the bus turned turtle down a five-metre deep slope near Kampung Rambai Tujuh, Supt Zakaria told reporters. Passenger Kasmawati Azmi said she was sitting near the back of the bus when she felt its swaying.

“It wasn’t speeding. It was drizzling and I felt the bus driver trying to avoid hitting the other cars,” said the 25-year-old trainee dental nurse. “But the bus ended up skidding sharply to the left before crashing through the guardrail and plunging down the slope.

“Everyone screamed. I saw two passengers bleeding after their ears were severed in the crash,” she added. Kasmawati said she was returning to her home in Taman Kuning Sari in Taiping, when the incident occurred. “It was my first time taking the bus. Usually my parents would fetch me at the Ipoh Hospital,” she said. Kasmawati, who crawled out of the bus through the emergency door, said she thought the bus was going to burst into flames and that she would die instantly.

= = =
March 10, 2007 19:46 PM

No More Need For Police In Express Buses, Says Nooryah

KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) -- Drivers should not rely on the police to monitor road users all the time, Bukit Aman Traffic Chief Datuk Nooryah Md Anvar said. As licensed drivers, she said, they should know the laws and to abide by stipulated regulations."If we are with them all the time, when are they going to obey the regulations," said Nooryah when asked whether police would continue to have uniformed policemen travel in express buses to ensure the drivers observed traffic regulations. Although it was carried out following a suggestion by Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hasan, she said, it was inappropriate for the police to practice it all the time. She said it was implemented to educate and ensure express bus drivers observe traffic regulations so that their passengers arrived at their destinations safely. "I will not compromise with drivers who are reckless," she said when contacted by Bernama here today.
She expressed regret with accidents involving express buses, including the one in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, in which six passengers were killed and 30 others injured, when it plunged into a ravine along the North-South Expressway yesterday. It is fated that these accidents happened but I cannot accept excuses like faulty brakes because it is the responsibility of the drivers to ensure that their buses are in tip-top condition and safe before they begin their journey," she said. As such, Nooryah said she had told all express bus operators to conduct a post-mortem to find out the actual cause of accidents involving public transport service. "Following which I will have a meeting with them to find out the outcome," she added.
= = = == = == = ==

March 10, 2007 19:43 PM

Police Identify Victims Of Bus Crash
KUALA KANGSAR, March 10 (Bernama) -- Police have identified the six passengers killed in the accident involving a Taiping-bound express bus which plunged into a ravine at Km254 of the North-South Expressway yesterday.

ABOVE & BELOW: Both Polytechnic Ungku Omar students

Two of them are students of the Ungku Omar Polytechnic in Ipoh. They are Nafsiah Ishak, 22, of No. 226-A, Jalan Makam DiRaja, Pantai Remis and A. Thanaletchumi, 22, from Lorong C, Aulong Lama, Taiping.

ABOVE: Lee An Chuan, 54, of No. 119 Jalan Besar, Batu Kurau; BELOW: Chung Keaw @ Cheong Yue Moy, 65, from Kampung Baru, Malim Nawar;

The others are Lee An Chuan, 54, of No. 119 Jalan Besar, Batu Kurau; Chung Keaw @ Cheong Yue Moy, 65, from Kampung Baru, Malim Nawar;

ABOVE: Saw Guat Har, 45, from Lorong Kemunting, Taiping; (BELOW) Liew Yoon Kim, 55, of No. 7 Jalan Tujuh, Housing Trust, Ipoh.

Saw Guat Har, 45, from Lorong Kemunting, Taiping and Liew Yoon Kim, 55, of No. 7 Jalan Tujuh, Housing Trust, Ipoh. Kuala Kangsar OCPD Supt Zakaria Pagan said all the victims died on the spot in the 6.30pm accident and their bodies had been sent to the Kuala Kangsar Hospital.

Police had informed their next-of-kin, who would be claiming their bodies for burial, he told reporters here today. He said the bus was carrying 48 passengers. Twenty-three of the injured were warded at the Kuala Kangsar Hospital, seven others at the Taiping Hospital and another six at the Ipoh Hospital. The driver of the express bus, 49, was also injured and was treated at the Taiping Hospital. Zakaria said initial investigations showed that the bus driver was trying to avoid two cars which were involved in an accident when the bus went off the road and plunge into the five-metre deep ravine. Two cranes were used to lift the bus in the rescue operation involving the police and the Fire and Rescue Department. Meanwhile, Nafsiah's father, Ishak Mahd Noor 54, said he only knew only learnt about the accident in the accident when his son called Nafsiah on her handphone after she failed to arrive home as expected about 7pm.

"A fireman answered the call and informed him (son) about the accident," he added. He said Nafsiah returned home every weekend to be with the family. "She called me about 5.30pm to inform me that she was on her way home and would call again when she arrived," he added.

= = = == =
Five in family die after car plunges into stream in Mambau

10 Mar 2007; BERNAMA
SEREMBAN, SAT: Five members of a family were killed when their car skidded and landed in a stream at KM 11 of the Seremban-Port Dickson road near Kampung Bemban, Mambau, last night. Negeri Sembilan Public Order and Traffic Chief Supt Junaid Zakaria said today Ismail Sehan, 56, his wife, Jemiah Baharom, 52, daughters Maslina, 30, and Nurul Shahierah, 7, and adopted daughter Aida Rosli, 11, died at the scene.

He said the accident happened about 10.50pm while the family was returning to their public housing unit at KM12.8 Teluk Kemang, Port Dickson, after fetching Maslina at the Terminal 1 bus station here. It is believed that Ismail was trying to avoid hitting a trailer, which was involved in an earllier accident, when he lost control of his Proton Iswara car, causing it to skid and land on its roof in the 1 metre-deep stream. Firemen took about an hour to extricate the bodies which were then sent to the Tuanku Jaafar Hospital for post-mortem.