SEVEN people died and 28 were injured, four of them seriously, when a tour bus ferrying a Kuala Lumpur Wanita Umno delegation crashed into the back of a tanker carrying latex at the Jelapang toll plaza near Ipoh yesterday.
A police spokesman said the driver and co-driver of the bus and four passengers died on the spot in the 4am accident while another victim died at Ipoh Hospital.
"The bus was on its way from Kubang Pasu to Cameron Highlands when the accident occurred," he said at the scene.
He said the bus with 35 people on board, including the driver and co-driver, was believed to have left Kubang Pasu at midnight.
Preliminary investigation showed that the bus experienced brake failure while descending the slope towards the toll plaza.he said.
Those who died were busdriver Lim The Lee, 49, co-driver Saad salleh, 45, and passengers Siti Rosedah Ibrahim, 46, Puteh binti Mat Isa, Mohamad Hussin, 50 Dahara Mohamad, 58, and Nur Shuhadah Muhamad,15.
The four victims with serious head and body injuries were Che Som Yusoff, 51, Halijah Hanafiah, 52, Sipah Sulaiman (age unknown), and a man who has yet to be identified.
Sixteen other passengers were warded at Ipoh Hospital while eight received outpatient treatment, Ipoh police chief ACP Azisman Alias said.
The other victims were Fatimah Shafie, 14, Zurina Nayan, 47, Mohd Aminuddin Ramli, 20, Fatimah Rojaan,40, Hakis, eight, Hashim Lebai Cha, 53, Rohani Hashim, 56, Umi Kalsom Wan Dollah, 16, Mohd Shukri Hasin, eight, Haminah Nikmat, 56, Nurfazilah Abdullah, 14, Mohd Muhsi Ahmad, 11, Faridah Mohd Nor 44, Nurhashimah Mohd, 18, Shamshum Ishak, 52, Mastura Izzati Mat Isa, 17,, Shahhasliza Hussein, 22,, Habibah Yaakub, 33, Yom Wahab, 52, Assariza Derani, 38, Siti Aishah Saidin,17, Normah Hanafi and two women who had yet to be identified.
The group, which was on its way to Cameron Highlands for a holiday, left Masjid Kubang Jawi in Kuala Kedah at midnight.
The unidentified tanker drive was unhurt.
One of the passengers, Haminah Nikmat, said the bus was traveling at high speed downhill after emerging from the Menora tunnel.
"When it approached the toll plaza, someone in front shouted that the brakes were not working. I was seated in the middle. After the bus crashed into the lorry, the front part and my seat were close to the roof of the bus," she said.
Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu expressed sadness over the tragedy which occurred just months before the toll plaza is relocated.
The toll plaza's relocation, about one kilometre away from the present site, is expected to be completed by middle of next years, he said after visiting the scene with Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Tajol Rosli Ghazali.
The toll plaza, located at a foothill, has been the site of several fatal accidents, prompting the government's decision to relocate it for motorists' safety.