MELAKA: Doctors at Melaka Hospital have shared the heartbreaking news with two young survivors of the tragic Ayer Keroh crash of the deaths of their parents and brother.
State health, human resources, and unity committee chairman Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem said Muhammad Uwais Al-Qarni Khairul Ikhwan, seven, and his four-year-old sister Sofea Humaira Khairul Ikhwan began crying when they learned about their family's fate on Friday (Dec 27).
"Doctors and relatives were at the siblings' side and had to console them. We had to conceal the truth as the siblings were undergoing treatments and only broke to them the news once their health was stable," he said on Saturday (Dec 28).
He said follow-up medical check-ups, including psychiatric evaluations, would be referred to the Serdang Hospital in Selangor.
Ngwe added that the siblings would be handed over to their grandparents in Bandar Baru Bangi after their discharge on Saturday evening (Dec 28) once their condition improved.
The Machap Jaya assemblyman also visited the siblings at the Melaka Hospital on Saturday (Dec 28) and presented them with some gifts.
On Dec 23, their two-year-old brother Muhammad Umar Khairul Ikhwan, along with their parents Khairul Izwan Mazupi and Fadzlenna Ramli, both 32, and their grandparents Ramli Ab Wahab, 66, and Fauziah Jaafar, 69, were killed on the spot during the accident at KM204 of the North-South Expressway (north-bound).
A disengaged front tyre of a heavy vehicle heading south caused the accident at around 8.40pm near the Ayer Keroh Rest and Recreational area.
The victims in the MPV were heading to Bandar Baru Bangi when the collision between two cars, a trailer, a lorry, and a tour bus occurred.
The tour bus, which was ferrying 27 passengers, hit a tyre lying in the middle of the expressway and the impact caused the bus driver to lose control, skidding into the opposite lane, where it collided with three other vehicles.
The 56-year-old bus driver Noorisnien Khamid and Singaporean passenger Lamrah Asid Ali, 66, were also killed.
In total, the accident left seven dead and 33 injured.
