BATU PAHAT: Two Indonesian men have died and 16 others injured when the tour bus they were in met an accident with a tow truck and a tanker at KM80.7 of the PLUS highway southbound here early Thursday (July 3).
The bus was carrying 46 passengers, consisting of 44 men and two women.
Sinar Harian reported Ayer Hitam Fire and Rescue Station senior fire officer operations commander Md Isa Masngun said they received an emergency call regarding the incident at 12.44am.
Seven personnel from the Ayer Hitam and Yong Peng fire stations were dispatched to the scene.
"The team found that two male bus passengers aged 43 and 44 were trapped and confirmed dead at the scene.
"14 male passengers, one female passenger and the bus driver were injured.
"The other 27 male passengers and one female passenger were not injured," he said in a statement on Thursday.
He said the 42-year-old tow truck driver and the 33-year-old tanker driver were also safe.
Sixteen others, including the bus driver, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital for treatment.
Special equipment was used to extricate the victims and the rescue operation was called off at 3.03am.
In a later statement, Ayer Hitam Fire and Rescue Station chief assistant fire superintendent Mohamad Shamin Mohamed Salikin identified the two dead victims as Hidirman, 43, and Zulhadi, 44.
