Gerik: Early Monday, the nation was shocked by a fatal crash involving a bus carrying 42 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students travelling from Jerteh, Terengganu, to Tanjung Malim, Perak.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the accident, which also involved a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) on the East-West Highway (JRTB) near Tasik Banding in Gerik, claimed the lives of 15 students. The incident was first reported at 1.10 am when the Hulu Perak Civil Defence Force (APM) District Operations Control Centre (PKOD) received an emergency call from Gerik Hospital.
Hulu Perak APM PKOD reported a total of 48 victims were involved in the accident, with 13 individuals found dead at the scene, two succumbing to injuries in hospital, and four others injured. Perak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director Sayani Saidon confirmed that the accident caused the bus to overturn and a car to skid into a ditch.
UPSI Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student and Alumni Affairs) Prof Dr Norkhalid Salimin stated that most of the bus passengers were UPSI students returning to campus in Tanjong Malim from Terengganu after the Hari Raya Aidiladha holidays. By 9.32 am, UPSI confirmed that 42 of its students were involved in the accident at JRTB Banun, Gerik.
Later, at 11.21 am, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir announced that 13 bodies of the victims were taken to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB), Ipoh, for post-mortem examinations, confirming that 15 UPSI students had died.
Perak Police Chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin added that the bus was carrying 42 students aged between 21 and 23, all from the East Coast. The accident resulted in 15 fatalities, with 27 other students-23 females and four males-injured, along with the 40-year-old bus driver and his 54-year-old assistant. Injured were also the MPV driver and passenger, a couple aged 37 and 36, and their two children, a six-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy. Noor Hisam mentioned that the identities of the victims could not be confirmed as the post-mortem process was still underway.
By 2.25 pm, the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) announced the formation of a special task force to investigate the crash. At 5.30 pm, the identities of six out of the 15 UPSI students who died in the accident near KM53 of the JRTB were confirmed by UPSI’s Corporate Communication Division. The confirmed names included Sufea Adela Maslihaizan, Mohammad Aqil Taqiudin, Anis Soffiyya Md Zaidi, Nur Ainul Qistina Mat Ali, Muhammad Adib Hazim Halim, and Wan Nur Suhaila Wan Mohammad.
Further confirmations of deceased included Fakhrul Arif Rosdi, Nurul Fatihah Abu Setaman, Nur Dalila Farhana Mohamad Isma, Nurul Izyanti Muhamad Azahar, Nur Amni Nadiah Nik Nor Zabir, Muhammad Mustaqim Rosde, Nor Ayuni Maslan, Nurly Sahirah Azman, and Fatin Nasrien Fadli.
Noor Hisam reported at 6.51 pm that post-mortem examinations of 13 UPSI students at HRPB had been completed, allowing for the bodies to be sent back to Terengganu earlier than expected. By 8.55 pm, a convoy of hearse vans carrying the deceased UPSI students began departing from the HRPB Forensic Department, heading to Jertih, Terengganu.