Singapore mum describes escaping horror Malaysia bus crash with her family

"There was a strong smell of gasoline and I was afraid that the bus would explode at any moment. .."

On Sunday 9 September, a coach operated by Singapore’s Grassland Express and Tours, was doing its usual Kuala Lumpur to Singapore route in the afternoon. There were 25 passengers in it, including Singaporean mum of two Madam Zheng Wen Shan and her family. At around 2.30pm that day, the coach crashed into a hauler truck on the North-South Highway, resulting in a horror Malaysia bus crash that injured many and killed others.

The horrifying wreckage…

Singaporean Mum Recounts Being in Malaysia Bus Crash

As the bus crashed into the rear of the truck, the screams of terrified passengers filled the air. The severity of this Malaysia bus crash became evident when the coach finally came to a stop. The massive truck had crashed right through the front of the bus (from the left) where the first five rows were.

Frantic passengers were stuck inside, unable to open any of the doors, or even the safety hatch. Madam Zheng, also trapped inside with her maid and family of four, told The New Paper that she smashed a window with a fire extinguisher in order to escape. Her two children are just nine and seven years old.

“There was a strong smell of gasoline and I was afraid that the bus would explode at any moment. We let the children get out first before escaping ourselves,” she said, according to reports.

Lucky…

Madam Zheng and her family were lucky to escape with their lives in the horror Malaysia bus crash. However, all of them as well as their maid, suffered injuries along with 14 other passengers.

As it so happened, Madam Zheng and family were supposed to return to Singapore on Friday 7 October after visiting relatives in Ipoh. But they were not able to get tickets, so they had to take the doomed bus that Saturday night.

Others in the Malaysia bus crash were not so lucky. Three passengers died, including a Singaporean permanent resident.

Mr Tan Boon Huat is the director of Grassland Express and Tours. According to The New Paper, he personally “drove Madam Zheng’s family back to Singapore after the accident.”

He said that “the accident was a tragedy that will haunt him” and that it will be an “eternal stain on my [his] conscience.”

Meanwhile, the bus driver who is miraculously also still alive, has been arrested.

Source: The New Paper

Got a parenting concern? Read articles or ask away and get instant answers on our app. Download theAsianparent Community on iOS or Android now!

Written by

Nalika Unantenne

malaysia bus crash