Five Bangladeshis killed in Malaysia road accident

At least five Bangladeshis were among the 12 people killed when a bus crashed into a storm drain in Malaysia's Sepang Sunday night.

Thirty-four others, including seven Bangladeshis, were injured, said a police statement in Kuala Lumpur.

Four Indonesian women, two Nepali men and the Malaysian bus driver were also killed, said Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) district police Chief Assistant Commissioner Zulkifli Adamshah.

According to the New Straits Times and Foreign Ministry officials, the five Bangladeshis are Md Razib Munsi, 26, Md Sohel, 24, Al Amin, 25, Mohin, 37 and Golam Mostafa, 22. Their addresses could not be known yet.

The bus driver and eight migrant workers died at the scene and three others at different hospitals.

The New Straits Times reports, the injured Bangladeshis Md Nazmul Haque, 21, Md Rozbul Islam, 43, and Imran Hossain, 21, are undergoing treatment at Serdang Hospital. Jahid Hassan, 21, Samim Ali, 32, Mohammad Yunus, 27, and Md Rakib, 24, are being treated at Putrajaya Hospital.

According to the Bangladesh foreign ministry, Sohel and Alamin are from Chandpur; Mahin and Md Rajib Munshi from Cumilla and Golam Mostafa is from Noakhali.

Of the 34 injured, 13 passengers were sent to the Serdang Hospital, 16 to the Putrajaya Hospital, four to the Banting Hospital and one to the Kajang Hospital.

The country's health director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah yesterday said 11 passengers were in critical condition, 14 other passengers in semi-critical condition. Conditions of eight others are not critical, reports Channel News Asia.

The crash occurred near the MAS Cargo Complex, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at Jalan S8 Pekeliling in Sepang around 11:10pm.

The bus was ferrying 43 contract workers of the MAS Cargo Complex from their hostel in Nilai, Negri Sembilan to their work place when it skidded and crashed into a 10-metre-deep storm drain, reports New Straits Times.

The Star Online reports Investigations revealed that the bus was going the wrong way before the crash.

Zulkifli Adamshah said the 43-year-old driver should have taken the three o'clock exit at the roundabout near the incident, but took the 12 o'clock exit instead.

He was supposed to take the three o'clock exit which leads to the place, where the workers he was transporting were supposed to go, but he took the wrong exit. The accident took place about 200m from the roundabout.

Zulkifli Adamshah added that the cause of the incident is being investigated.

“The driver does not have any traffic records on his name and his licence is valid. A post-mortem is being conducted currently,” he said.

“We are looking at everything, including the state of the bus and the driver to determine the cause of the accident,” Zulkifli said.

Fire and Rescue Department personnel took about an hour to reach the victims, as they had to cut through several parts of the bus.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke has urged employers of the foreign workers involved in the crash to come forward and take responsibility for their employees, reports Malay Mail.

Despite being foreign nationals, he said it is the government's duty to facilitate the eventual return of the remains.

“The employers should also provide further medical treatment for their injured workers, and for those to be discharged they should be collected and sent back to their hostels.

“The authorities will assist in the repatriation of the bodies to their respective countries, and I understand the various embassies and high commissions have already been notified,” Loke told reporters outside the Serdang Hospital emergency ward entrance, after paying a visit to the victims.

“The Road Transport Department and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research will conduct an audit investigation on the bus' operating company on Tuesday.

“The company, CJ Global Travel and Tour Sdn Bhd, is based in Bandar Baru Nilai, Negri Sembilan, and has the permits to operate five worker buses and four tour buses,” he said.

Loke added that if the company is found to have violated any road safety regulations, it could face the suspension of its licence, Loke added.