SHAH ALAM: The military aircrafts carrying the remains of 13 Malaysians who perished in accident on Sunday and their next of kin touched down at the Subang Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), this morning.
The Malaysian C130 aircraft transporting a survivor of the Chiang Mai crash as well as the next-of-kin of those injured in the incident landed at the base at 3.32am
Six minutes later, the Royal Thai Air Force C130 aircraft carrying remains of the 13 victims killed in the Chiang Mai bus crash accident, landed at the base.
Minister in Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong was at hand to receive the relatives and the remains.
The survivor of the crash, 61-year-old Lee Siew Kim was seen being carried out from the back of the aircraft on a stretcher into a waiting ambulance.
She was then assessed by the medical team before the ambulance transported her to hospital.
Mah said it is not known whether the victim was sent to the Sungai Buloh or Batu Pahat hospital as it depends on the health of the patient.
Sombre mood enveloped near the Royal Thai Air Force aircraft area as family members lined up to watch 13 coffins were being carried out and placed into waiting hearse’s.
Each coffin was carried by eight RMAF personnel. At least 100 personnel were involved in the effort.
Security remained tight and members of the media were not allowed to interview the victim’s family members.
Members of a Buddhist society was also present at the base to offer prayers for the victims.
The 13 victims — five men and eight women between 20s and 80s, were returning from an overnight trip in Chiang Rai when the accident happened.
The bus, ferrying 23 people, hit a car and ran off a curve in the road in the Doi Saket district, near the northern city of Chiang Mai.