BUTTERWORTH: Passengers, seated at the back of a stalled factory bus, had little chance to escape when they were rammed from behind by another factory bus early Tuesday morning.
In the 5.50am incident on the northbound stretch of Km147 of the North-South Expressway (NSE), four Indonesian female factory workers died after they were thrown out of the bus while three others were pinned to their seats.
A passenger on the other bus died after she too was pinned to her seat. She has been identified as Malaysian Noriah Kasa, 40.
As for the seven Indonesians, they are Titik Katinengsih, 23, Serlia, 21; Tumangger Resni, 22; Yeni, 20; Sartika Pasaribu, 19; Wami Windasih, 19, and Faridah, 18.
The accident also saw 44 others were injured, including nine seriously.
Seven others escaped unhurt.
Seberang Prai Tengah district police chief Assistant Commissioner Nik Ros Ashan Nik Abdul Hamid said initial investigation at the scene revealed that the bus, ferrying 39 Indonesian and a Nepalese women to the Sony factory in Prai, stopped on the left lane of the highway after experiencing engine problem.
“The other bus, ferrying 17 local women from Parit Buntar to the Plexus factory in Bayan Lepas, failed to brake on time and slammed into the stalled bus.
“The impact of the crash caused the bus to push the stalled bus to the right side of the highway,” he told newsmen today.
Nik Ros Ashan said the two factory bus drivers, aged 23 and 37, escaped unhurt.
They have been remanded for four days to assist with investigation into the fatal crash.
Both drivers were arrested soon after the accident and both have had their urine and blood samples tested.
Police said they can only reveal more after the results are obtained.
Nik Ros Azhan said the younger driver had three warrant of arrests issued against him previously for driving without driver’s licence, beating the red light and not wearing the seat belt.
“As for the other driver, he has no previous record,” he added.
Checks at the scene showed that both factory buses were severely damaged.
The accident also cause a 15km crawl from Jawi to Juru.
Meanwhile, state Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Mohamad Shoki Hamzah said they received distress call at about 6.02am.
“When we arrived at the scene, we saw two factory buses were involved in an accident, including a van.
“We immediately carried out rescue works and sent those injured to the hospital, with the help of other agencies.
“Besides the Seberang Jaya Hospital, the injured were also sent to the Sungai Bakap and Bukit Mertajam hospitals.
The operations ended at 9.02am.
Meanwhile, it was a poignant scene at the Seberang Jaya Hospital’s Forensic Unit when relatives and friends came out wailing after identifying the remains of their loved ones.
Many were seen sobbing uncontrollably and had to be consoled by friends.