IPOH: The post-mortem process for 13 of the 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students killed in a crash at KM53 of the East-West Highway near Gerik is expected to be completed by midnight on Monday (June 9).
Perak Health director Dr Feisul Idzwan Mustapha said as of 3.30pm on Monday (June 9), six post-mortems had been completed at Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) here.
"The process is time-consuming due to the condition of the bodies. In addition, some family members have yet to arrive to identify them.
"Once the post-mortems are done, the bodies will be handed over to the families in stages,” he told reporters at the HRPB Forensics Department.
The other two bodies were sent to Hospital Gerik for post-mortem.
Dr Feisul said three teams were involved in the post-mortem process, which began at 11.30am.
"The 13 bodies arrived at about 9am. For each body, the process takes about two to three hours, depending on the condition. Given the large number of victims, it will take some time,” he said.
The students were travelling in a chartered bus from Jerteh, Terengganu, to their campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, when it collided with a multi-purpose vehicle near Tasik Banding.
Meanwhile, Terengganu police have deployed a patrol car with two personnel to escort the hearses of the victims.
Terengganu police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Mohd Khairi Khairudin said the initiative was taken to facilitate the journey of all hearses involved, following reports of traffic congestion in Gerik.
"We were informed that traffic in Gerik is slightly congested, so police have dispatched a patrol car from Besut to Gerik to escort the hearses to and from the location.
"In addition, police in Kelantan will also assist with the escort in each district along the route if there are traffic delays,” he said when contacted.
DCP Mohd Khairi also called on the public to cooperate by giving way, so that the police escort and hearses can reach their destination without delay.
A total of 15 UPSI students were killed while 17 others were seriously injured during the incident. - Bernama
