Malaysia Bus Crash Kills 28 People, Mostly Thai Tourists

VOA Breaking News (Voice of America)
December 20, 2010 at 5:35 pm

Malaysian authorities say a double-decker bus has crashed in central Malaysia, killing 28 people, mostly tourists from Thailand.

Police say the driver lost control of the tourist bus on a highway Monday, causing it to crash into a divider before flipping over and falling into a ditch. The bus was carrying Thai tourists who had just completed a weekend visit to the Cameron Highlands, one of Malaysia's top tourist attractions.

The tourists were returning by bus to Kuala Lumpur for a flight back to Thailand when the accident happened. The crash killed three Malaysians, including the bus driver, his assistant and a tour guide. The rest of the dead were Thais.

Rescuers recovered 22 bodies from the ditch, and another six people died after being taken to a hospital. A Malaysian police official told the French news agency that nine Thais survived the crash and were receiving treatment.

Bus crashes are common in Malaysia, which has the highest rate of road traffic fatalities in Southeast Asia, according to a World Health Organization study. Some crashes are blamed on poorly trained drivers who speed or take drugs to keep themselves awake.