Gerik: Mohd Azizan Aziz was exhausted after driving back to Gerik, Perak, from Terengganu in the early hours of June 9. Still, the Gerik Fire and Rescue Station chief decided to stop at his workplace where he had been based since 2021. It was not unusual for him to go to work outside of his duty hours as he lived alone (his wife and children reside in Jerteh, Terengganu). As he neared the station, he sensed that something was amiss – the atmosphere hinted at an unfolding emergency. Coincidentally, it was at that very moment the station received the grim news of a horrific road accident on the East-West Highway (JRTB).
According to Bernama News Agency, one of the deadliest crashes in the country in over a decade, the Gerik accident claimed the lives of 15 students from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). It involved a tour bus and a multipurpose vehicle and occurred near Tasik Banding, about 60 kilometres from the Gerik fire station, on the East-West Highway. The bus was chartered by a group of 42 UPSI students from Jerteh and the crash occurred while they were on their way back to their campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, after celebrating Hari Raya Aidiladha with their families back home.
Mohd Azizan said in any emergency, the head of rescue operations plays a critical role as all actions taken are based on the decisions and initial assessments made by that officer. He also emphasised the importance of strong mental resilience for all rescue team members during such operations. ‘Each member must learn to suppress their emotions in order to carry out rescue efforts effectively,’ he said, adding the Gerik tragedy was the first time he had encountered an accident involving such a large number of casualties and fatalities.
Recalling the incident, rescue operations commander Senior Fire Officer II Kamarul Ariffin Abd Ghani said they received the report of the crash at 1.04 am on June 9. ‘Before we got the call, we were all busy with administrative tasks, with some of us completing reports of previous cases to be entered into the system, and doing other routine work. ‘(Once we got the call) I and nine other personnel rushed to the scene. On the way, we tried to contact the caller who had reported the incident but were unsuccessful,’ he told Bernama.
Meanwhile, at Hospital Gerik, located about an hour’s drive from the June 9 crash site, its Emergency Department entered critical response mode as soon as news of the crash came in. Dr Muhammad Adam Muskhan, who led the emergency operations, said due to the scale of the accident, the hospital activated the Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) emergency code, with measures taken including adding beds in all three emergency zones – red, yellow and green.
According to Dr Muhammad Adam, they received initial information about the incident at around 1 am but the real challenge began at 3.18 am when the first casualty arrived. ‘When the victims started arriving, we conducted triage before directing them to the appropriate treatment zones, with the red zone designated for critical cases,’ he said, adding some victims were referred to nearby hospitals for further treatment.
Meanwhile, Civil Defence Force (APM) ambulance driver Corporal Mohd Zamri Taib, who was among those who ferried the Gerik crash casualties to the hospital, expressed gratitude for the training and simulation exercises he had undergone in the past. ‘Although the conditions during training are never quite the same as a real-life situation, the knowledge and skills I gained during those sessions really helped me during the actual operation,’ he said.