SEPANG: A factory bus carrying 43 MAS Kargo workers plunged into a ravine, killing 12 people including the driver, at S8, Jalan Pekeliling near the KL International Airport (KLIA) late on Sunday.
Except for the driver who is a local, the others killed in the 11.10pm accident were four Indonesian women, five Bangladeshi men and two Nepali men.
It is learnt that nine others escaped with light injuries while the rest are being treated at hospitals in Putrajaya, Serdang, Kajang and Banting.
KLIA police chief, ACP Zulkifli Adamshah said initial investigations showed that the driver had lost control of the vehicle before it crashed.
He said the passengers who comprised 31 men and 12 women were contract workers from a private company employed by MAS Kargo.
Zulkifli said the workers comprised two Malaysian women and 41 foreigners from Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal, aged between 21 and 43.
He said the workers were earlier picked up by the bus driver from their hostel in Putra Nilai and were to report for work at midnight.
Zulkifli said six of the victims who are warded at the hospitals are reported to be in critical condition.
“We a puzzled why the driver went straight at a roundabout towards a road that leads to the airport’s hangars instead of turning right towards MAS Kargo which he normally did. We are investigating this,“ he told theSun.
Apart from police, those involved in the rescue work at the scene of the accident were the fire and rescue department and Civil Defence Force.
In PUTRAJAYA, manpower agency Mutiara Kayamas Sdn Bhd said the 44 people, including the bus driver, involved in the crash were its employees.
Its human resource executive, Nur Nadiah Wahab, said the company would provide the necessary assistance to those injured in the crash, Bernama reported.
“For those killed in the crash, we will provide the necessary assistance to send their bodies back to their respective country,“ she added.
Meanwhile, Selangor police chief Datuk Noor Azam Jamaludin said there were no brake marks found at the crash site.
“Early checks did not reveal any signs of braking at the scene. Further investigations are underway to determine whether the bus driver was on drugs or fell asleep when the accident occurred.”
At Putrajaya Hospital, representatives from the company were seen accompanying seven of the victims in the crash leaving the hospital, but they (victims) were not allowed to speak to the media.
It is learnt that they would be sent to a private hospital for treatment.
“Updates on this case will be issued from time to time,“ Bernama quoted him as saying at the Selangor Police Contingent Headquarters here today.
She said 16 of the workers were admitted at Putrajaya Hospital, where one of them died during treatment while the other injured were admitted at the Serdang Hospital, Banting Hospital and Kajang Hospital.
