A bus carrying university students again to their campus smashed right into a minivan in northern Malaysia on Monday (June 9, 2025), killing at least 15 folks, police and rescue companies mentioned.
Thirteen victims died at the scene close to the city of Gerik, on the busy East-West Highway close to the Thai border, whereas two died in hospital.
The accident is the deadliest in additional than a decade on Malaysia’s hazardous roads.
“It looked like the bus had lost control and hit the [minivan] from behind,” Perak State Police Chief Hisam Nordin mentioned.
Images from the scene taken by the hearth and rescue division confirmed a inexperienced bus overturned on its proper facet with a smashed rear finish cowl, whereas the crimson minivan had slid right into a ditch, with its home windows blown out.
This handout picture taken and launched by Perak’s Fire and Rescue Department on June 9, 2025 reveals a bus after it collided with a minivan in Gerik-Jeli, in Malaysia’s Perak state. At least 15 folks had been killed when a bus carrying students smashed right into a minivan in northern Malaysia early on June 9, native information reviews mentioned.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
“Some victims managed to get out on their own, some victims were thrown out while others were still [trapped] in the bus,” the Perak state catastrophe administration authority mentioned in an announcement.
Rescuers had to make use of a hydraulic cutter to free folks from the bus.
The loss of life toll included 14 students from the Sultan Idris Education University, whereas the final sufferer was a bus attendant, the emergency companies mentioned.
Thirty-three others had been injured, with seven in important situation taken to hospital, it added.
Most of the victims had been aged between 21 and 23. They had been travelling from the city of Jerteh in northeastern Malaysia when the accident occurred shortly after 1:00 a.m. (1700 GMT on Sunday).
‘Chaotic scene’
Police Chief Hisam mentioned officers had been investigating whether or not the crash “involved human negligence or if it was a technical issue”.
A witness informed the New Straits Times it “was a chaotic scene with students screaming and crying for help”.
“They were pinned between the wreckage,” the witness, recognized as Razali, informed the paper.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered the Higher Education Ministry to assist the sufferer’s households and mentioned he and his spouse Azizah had been “deeply saddened” by the tragedy.
“Heartbreaking disasters like these that are repeated often should be a lesson to all to be careful and not to rush,” Mr. Anwar wrote on Facebook.
“Your lives are too precious and can’t be replaced,” he added.
Malaysia has a excessive fee of site visitors accidents, with a mean of 18 folks killed on the roads every day, based on authorities figures.
The East-West Highway, which connects the 2 seaboards of the Malaysian peninsula, is affected by accidents, with frequent collisions between animals and autos.
Malaysia worst bus catastrophe occurred in 2013 when an specific bus plunged down a ravine northeast of Kuala Lumpur, killing 37.
Published – June 09, 2025 12:15 pm IST
