| Adapted from Borneo Bulletin dated December 21st, 2011 - Wednesday |
By Hakim Hayat, Siti Hajar & Dean Kassim
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A holiday outing turned tragic yesterday afternoon when a Brunei-registered bus travelling from Tawau towards Kota Kinabalu, carrying 31 Bruneian passengers, crashed into a tree and split into two, claiming the lives of six people and critically injuring several others.
According to Malaysian news agency Bernama, it was also believed that there were children, but their number and their ages had yet to be determined at press time.
Tuaran Police Chief Department Superintendant Zaharuddin Rasip confirmed to the Borneo Bulletin in a telephone interview that the accident happened at around 3.05pm yesterday, when the bus lost control at Kilometre 8.9, Jalan Tamparuli in Ranau.
According to him, the bus overturned twice, grazed a tourist bus on the opposite lane and slammed into a tree 30 metres away before splitting into two on a downhill stretch nearby. The force of the impact was so great that the roof of the bus was ripped open, Zaharuddin Rasip added.
He informed the Bulletin that the total number of people on board the bus at the time of the incident was 33, including an Indian driver and an assistant driver.
It is understood that two of the passengers died at the scene, while one of the victims died en route to the Tuaran Hospital. Another three people, meanwhile, succumbed to serious injuries while receiving treatment.
Tuaran Police Department late last night released the names of the deceased - Abdul Manan Ishak, 50; Pengiran Hjh Zohra Pengiran Zainal, 61; Dayang Norhayati Abdul Hadi, 61; Faridah binti Haji Husni, 60; Hjh Azizah bte Hj Jamaludin, 57; and, Haji Sapawi, 60.
At press time, Zaharuddin Rasip confirmed that another six people were critically wounded, 12 were in semi-critical condition and nine others sustained minor injuries.
According to him, half of the victims were transported to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu to receive further treatment due to limited space at Tuaran Hospital.
In a telephone interview with a spokesperson for Tuaran Hospital's Emergency Department late last night, it was disclosed that the bodies of four victims were at the hospital. The rest of the injured were, meanwhile, being treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
When contacted by the Bulletin, a staff at Queen Elizabeth Hospital confirmed that a number of Bruneians were receiving immediate medical attention at the Emergency Unit. No further details were disclosed.
A Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) spokesperson, at press time, confirmed that the death toll stood at six (four men and two women).
According to the police, Syarikat Pengangkutan Daba, a tour operator with an office in Kg Tungku in Gadong, was the tour operator in charge of the travel package.
Zaharuddin Rasip told the Bulletin that the bus was owned by Sunshine Borneo Tourism & Travel.
A representative of Syarikat Pengangkutan Daba said that the tour operator's office had been receiving calls from relatives of the victims all day. It was disclosed that officials from the company were making their way to Kota Kinabalu to assess the situation and to make further arrangements.
He revealed that the 31 Bruneians were travelling on a group package on the bus bearing registration number KJ3067. The group was led by Haji Tarsad.
The Bulletin has also learnt that officials from the Brunei Consulate in Sabah were busy making arrangements at both hospitals in Sabah to provide any assistance to the victims.
A broadcast by Malaysian state television channel, TV1, last night aired an interview with an unidentified Bruneian passenger who survived the ordeal. Describing the moments before the crash, he claimed that passengers could smell burning rubber, which he believed came from the bus's engine 'belting'.
The bus was allegedly being driven at high speed at the sharp bend and the bus driver was allegedly attempting to overtake three other vehicles, he further claimed.
"Before we knew it, the bus lost control, overturned and hit the tree," he said.
As word of the accident spread via social networking sites and wire news agencies yesterday evening, worried relatives of the victims inundated the hotlines of several government agencies, as well as the Borneo Bulletin Hotline, to find out more about the condition of their loved ones.
It is understood that the group had arrived in Sabah last Friday, before travelling to Tawau, where they spent a night there. They were scheduled to spend another night in Kota Kinabalu before heading back to Brunei today (Wednesday).
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