Four killed, 25 injured in bus-lorry crash on East-West Highway

Four people were killed and 25 injured after an express bus and a trailer lorry collided at Km124 of the East-West Highway at Batu 14 in Jeli early today.

The dead have been identified as Hasiah Osman, 57, and her son, Muhammad Amir Abdul Rahim, 16, of Kampung Alma, Bukit Mertajam, Penang; Nor Afiqah Alimi Mohd Ali, 19, of Kampung Mengabang Lekar, Batu Rakit, Terengganu, and Mohd Syafiq Azrul Azmi, 25, of Losong, Terengganu.

Jeli Fire and Rescue chief assistant superintendent Juhari Ahmad said the bus, travelling from Butterworth, Penang, to Kuala Terengganu, and the trailer lorry were involved in a head-on collision at 1.40am.

He said the station was alerted at 1.47am and it rushed six fire and rescue personnel and four volunteer fire and rescue personnel to the scene by 2.15am.

The injured passengers were sent to the Jeli and Tanah Merah hospitals, he said.

Hasiah's husband Abdul Rahim Hashim, 68, said he had accompanied his wife and son Muhammad Amir on a trip to Gong Badak, Terengganu, to visit his 30-day-old eldest grandchild.

"My wife had insisted on wanting to see our grandchild. She sat with our son and I had occupied another seat.

"I had fallen asleep and was awakened by a loud noise and found myself flung to the front portion of the bus," he said at the Jeli Hospital.

He said he rushed out of the bus and found his wife dead on the road after having been flung out of the bus.

"I looked for our son for about an hour and found him crushed inside the bus, dead," he said.

Meanwhile, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman expressed his condolences to the families of the four who perished in the accident.

He has instructed the relevant agencies and local leaders to extend assistance to the bus passengers and others who were from Terengganu.

- Bernama