bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

A bus that plunged into a ravine, killing 37 in Malaysia’s worst-ever road accident, was overloaded according to reports on Thursday that indicated the vehicle had been banned from the roads and that foreigners were among the casualties.
Authorities say the express bus was carrying 53 people when it veered off a busy and treacherous mountain road on Wednesday, tumbling into a deep gully and scattering dead and injured on the mountainside.
Sixteen survivors have been sent to hospitals, with some reportedly in critical condition.
Malaysian media said Chinese, Indonesian, Bangladeshi and Thai nationals were believed to be among the dead and injured.
Staff at Hospital Kuala Lumpur told AFP that one Korean and one Canadian national were among the dead brought there, but authorities have yet to provide a full breakdown.
Housing and Urban Wellbeing Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan was quoted as saying the vehicle’s capacity was 44.
“You do the math,” Rahman told reporters when asked if the bus was overloaded.
The bus plied an express line bringing visitors to the Genting Highlands resort, a mountaintop gambling and entertainment park about an hour’s drive from the capital Kuala Lumpur.
The vehicle had been blacklisted by authorities, according to leading daily The Star, but the reasons were not stated and AFP could not immediately verify the claim.
A horrific scene greeted rescue personnel as they tried to pull survivors out of the mangled bus, hindered by the sheer 70-metre hillside which the bus had plunged down.
“The operation is finished. Last night we searched for more victims but found none, so we closed the operation late last night,” fire department official Christopher Chong said.
Authorities speculated that the driver lost control on a tight bend but cautioned that investigations were still underway.
The tragedy is certain to bring new scrutiny to the issue of safety on the route leading to the resort, which is popular with both Malaysians and foreigners.
The resort’s casino and a theme park draw about 20 million visitors per year. It is undergoing a major refurbishment, aimed at bringing in still more visitors, which will see a Twentieth Century Fox theme park open in 2016.
The resort is operated by Resorts World Genting, which is owned by Genting Malaysia, one of the country’s largest companies.
Resorts World Genting expressed “sadness” over the accident, but stressed in a statement that it does not operate the bus line.
The Genting Highlands road is notoriously steep and winding and has seen several accidents in recent years, some fatal.
Two Indian tourists died and 22 other people were hurt when their bus overturned in the area last year. Seventeen people died in 1996 when a bus veered off the steep road.


Bus in deadly Malaysia crash ‘was overloaded’

Rescue operation after the bus crash in Genting Highlands. Photo: Reuters

At least 37 dead as Malaysian bus plunges into ravine

Rescuers worker check for survivors at the scene of the crash. Photo: Xinhua

Emergency services personnel look on at the scene of the bus crash near the the Genting Highlands. Photo: AFP

Emergency services lift an injured bus passenger to safety. Photo: AP

Malaysian emergency services personnel rescue a passenger after a bus carrying tourists and local residents fell into a ravine near the Genting Highlands, about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

News

Asia

Reports say the vehicle had been banned from the roads


Bus in deadly Malaysia crash ‘was overloaded’

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Reports say the vehicle had been banned from the roads

Reports say the vehicle had been banned from the roads