Chronology of tragic Gerik bus crash that claimed 15 lives

New Straits Times

4 hours ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Early Monday, the nation was shocked by a fatal crash involving a bus carrying 42 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students travelling from Jerteh, Terengganu, to Tanjung Malim, Perak.
The accident, which also involved a Perodua Alza multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) on the East-West Highway (JRTB) near Tasik Banding in Gerik, claimed the lives of 15 students.
The following is a chronology of the accident:
1.10am – The Hulu Perak Civil Defence Force District Operations Control Centre receives an emergency call regarding the incident from Gerik Hospital.
It said a total of 48 victims were involved, with 13 individuals found dead at the scene, two succumbing to injuries in hospital, and four others injured.
Perak Fire and Rescue Department director Sayani Saidon confirmed that the accident caused the bus to overturn and a car to skid into a ditch.
UPSI Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Student and Alumni Affairs) Prof Dr Norkhalid Salimin said most of the bus passengers were UPSI students returning to campus in Tanjung Malim from Terengganu after the Hari Raya Aidiladha holidays.
9.32am – UPSI confirms that 42 of its students were involved in the accident at JRTB Banun, Gerik, early Monday.
11.21am – Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir says 13 bodies of the victims involved in the crash were taken to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB), Ipoh, for post-mortem examinations.
He also confirms that 15 UPSI students had died in the accident.
12.04pm – Perak Police Chief Datuk Noor Hisam Nordin says the bus was carrying 42 students aged between 21 and 23, all from the East Coast.
All bodies were awaiting post-mortem; 13 were sent to HRPB while two were at Gerik Hospital.
A total of 27 other students - 23 females and four males - were also injured, along with the 40-year-old bus driver and his 54-year-old assistant.
Also injured were the MPV driver and passenger, a couple aged 37 and 36, and their two children, a six-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy.
Noor Hisam said the identities of the victims, including the 15 who died, could not be confirmed yet as the post-mortem process was still underway.
2.25pm – Police announce the formation of a special task force to investigate the crash.
5.30pm – The identities of six out of the 15 UPSI students who died in the accident near KM53 of the JRTB are confirmed.
In a statement, UPSI's Corporate Communication Division identifies them as Sufea Adela Maslihaizan, 21; Mohammad Aqil Taqiudin, 21; Anis Soffiyya Md Zaidi, 20; Nur Ainul Qistina Mat Ali, 21; Muhammad Adib Hazim Halim, 21; and Wan Nur Suhaila Wan Mohammad, 22.
Also confirmed dead are Fakhrul Arif Rosdi, 20; Nurul Fatihah Abu Setaman, 22; Nur Dalila Farhana Mohamad Isma, 21; Nurul Izyanti Muhamad Azahar, 21; Nur Amni Nadiah Nik Nor Zabir, 21; Muhammad Mustaqim Rosde, 21; Nor Ayuni Maslan, 21; Nurly Sahirah Azman, 23; and Fatin Nasrien Fadli, 22.
6.51pm – Noor Hisam says post-mortem examinations of 13 UPSI students at HRPB have been completed, and the bodies may be sent back to Terengganu earlier than expected.
8.55pm – A convoy of hearse vans carrying the deceased UPSI students begins leaving the HRPB Forensic Department, heading to Jerteh, Terengganu.