K
Kojiro Sasaki
Guest
Saturday November 6, 2010
Bus crashes into canal, killing one
By NIK NAIZI HUSIN
[email protected]
KUANTAN: A 25-year-old man who was killed in an express bus accident in Pekan had earlier spoken with his friend about the reckless driver. Mohd Shukri Zahak, 25, said he and Ismail Natayudden Hamdan were talking about the speeding bus. Ten minutes later, Ismail died when the bus skidded and hit a divider before plunging into a canal at Kampung Sungai Miang.
Investigators checking the site where the express bus plunged into a canal in Pekan on Thursday. Ismail (inset) was the only one killed in the accident.
Mohd Shukri said both he and Ismail were talking to each other about “the terrible journey” that they were having after they boarded the bus from the Larkin bus terminal in Johor Baru at 3.20pm. “We were planning to alert the driver about his driving. “Minutes later, I saw the bus going straight (into the canal) instead of making a right turn along the road.
“When it crashed, I couldn’t see Ismail at all because it was dark,” Mohd Shukri said after attending Ismail’s funeral at Taman Cenderawasih here yesterday. Both of them, students at an institute in Johor, were going to Pekan to enjoy the Deepavali holiday. Pekan police chief Supt Yahaya Othman said Ismail, who suffered head and body injuries, was the only one killed in the accident.
The express bus, with 33 passengers on board, was travelling from Johor Baru to Kuantan when the crash occurred at 8.15pm. He added that two other passengers were admitted to the Pekan Hospital while the others, including the bus driver, escaped unhurt. Supt Yahaya said the driver had been detained for investigations. Ismail’s fiancee, Nurul Hana Abu Hassan, 25, who rushed from Muar after being informed of the accident, said they were supposed to get married on Nov 11.
