Six Brunei nationals killed in bus crash, 8 others injured

KOTA KINABALU: Three of the six Brunei tourists who died in a road accident involving an express bus in Tuaran near here Tuesday have been identified.

Sabah Deputy Police Commissioner Datuk Tan Kok Liang said those identified were Abdul Manan Ishak, 50, Pangiran Zahama Pangiran Zainal, 61, and Dayang Norhayati Abdul Hadi, 61.

Two of the dead were only identified as Faridah, 60 and Sapawi, 60, while a woman's identity had yet to be determined, he said.

"We only got fellow passengers to identify them. We have yet to check with the Immigration Department. What was important was to rescue them," he told reporters at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

DCP Tan said six victims sustained critical injuries. He said there was not much information that could be obtained from the victims as they were all traumatised by the incident.

The ill-fated bus at the site of the crash

He said there were 32 people - 11 men and 21 women, including the driver and an assistant driver - on the bus that was travelling from Tawau to Kota Kinabalu.

In the 3.05pm incident, the bus carrying all Brunei tourists lost control and overturned at a sharp corner before hitting a tree at kilometre 8.9 of the Ranau-Tamparuli road near Kampung Koporingan in Tuaran.

Tuaran police chief Dept Supt Zaharuddin Rasip said two of those killed died on the spot. The others were pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.

He said initial reports indicated that the bus was heading downhill when it slammed into a large tree and split into two. - Star