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Zangief
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Thursday December 2, 2010
Nine injured in highway crash
KUALA LUMPUR: Nine people were seriously injured when their express bus crashed into the back of a shuttle bus along the KM420.8 of the North-South Expressway (NSE) near the Bukit Tagar exit. The accident occurred at about 6.15pm yesterday when the shuttle bus ferrying nine passengers tried to avoid crashing into a lorry from the left lane, which is believed to have lost control and swerved into his lane. There were 18 passengers in the express bus.
All that’s left: The bus ferrying 40 civil servants from Putrajaya to Selayang burst into flames on the North-South Expressway near Sungai Besi Wednesday.
The shuttle bus driver, Mohd Asraf Nordin, 36, said he was driving in the middle lane at 80kph when the lorry suddenly swerved into his lane. “I quickly hit the brake to avoid crashing into the back of the lorry. Unfortunately, an express bus trailing behind failed to stop in time and crashed into the back of my bus,” he said, adding that it was raining at the time.
The Plusliner express bus was headed to Kuala Lumpur from Penang while the Star Shuttle bus from Sitiawan, Perak was heading towards the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. It is learnt that none of the passengers in the shuttle bus suffered any injury. The driver of the express bus suffered a broken leg in the accident. All the injured are currently warded in the Sungai Buloh Hospital.
Meanwhile, 40 civil servants travelling in a shuttle bus from Putrajaya to Selayang had a narrow escape when it burst into flames at the NSE near Sungai Besi. The incident occurred at about 5pm when several passengers smelled something burning and smoke began filling the cabin. The driver pulled over and instructed the passengers to get out. Minutes later, the back portion of the bus, which houses the engine, went up in flames.
Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Azizan Ismail said they received a distress call at 5.50pm before two fire trucks rushed to the scene to put out the fire. “By the time we arrived at the scene, the fire had engulfed the entire bus. The fire was put out within 45 minutes. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained,” he said. No one was injured in the incident.
