32 tourists escape bus fire unharmed

Up in flames: Firefighters putting out the fire which engulfed a tour bus at the North-South Expressway. — Photo courtesy of Yong Peng Fire and Rescue Department

YONG PENG: Thirty-two Indonesian tourists bound for Kuala Lumpur from Johor Baru escaped injury when their tour bus caught fire at the 99.9th kilometre of the North-South Expressway.

However, the bus was badly damaged and all their passports and luggage stowed on board were destroyed.

According to bus driver Sanusi Mohd Yusof, 47, the group from Jakarta arrived in Johor Baru at about 6pm on Wednesday and spent the night at a hotel there.

“We left for Kuala Lumpur at about 8.30am.

“Almost three hours into the trip to KL, I smelled something burning,” he said.

Sanusi, who has been a bus driver for 17 years, immediately stopped and told the passengers to evacuate the vehicle when he saw black smoke coming out of the back.

He said the tour company is making arrangements for the tourists to meet Indonesian Embassy officials in Kuala Lumpur and get temporary travel documents so they can return home today as planned.

Yong Peng Fire and Rescue Department operations officer Nazari Keling said the department received a distress call at about 11.10am.

He said a fire engine from the station here and a water tanker from the Ayer Hitam station were sent to the scene.

“We managed to put out the fire after two hours, but the bus was badly damaged,” Nazari said.