Three dead, 14 injured in bus crash

BATU PAHAT: Three people died and at least 14 were injured when an express bus they were travelling in crashed at 107.2km of the North-South Expressway, from Pagoh heading to Yong Peng on Sunday.

The driver of the bus is believed to have lost control and crashed into the railing and ended up at the side of the highway.

The bus was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Johor with 17 passengers including a number of foreigners.

Those killed in the 2pm incident were two men and a 10-year-old boy.

A passenger from the Philippines named Ruby, 27, said she was sleeping and was woken up suddenly by loud noises.

"It was chaotic, people and things everywhere and I was lucky that I fell out off the bus through the broken side window when it skidded, otherwise worse could have happened," she said when met at the emergency room at Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail here.

Ruby, who is working in Johor Baru, said she was going home after visiting her cousin in Kuala Lumpur.

A passer-by, Amil Ibrahim, 41, said he was driving down alone to Yong Peng from Kuala Lumpur for business when he saw the wrecked bus by the side of the highway.

He said he managed to help a few people to the side and aid some of the victims with their injuries.

"Many people were panicking and crying," he said after sending a 22-year-old woman to the hospital.

The contractor said many passers-by stopped their cars and helped the victims.