Police Believe Brake Failure Cause Of Fatal Tourist Bus Crash

By Mohamad Azim Fitri Abd Aziz and S. Kisho Kumari KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 (Bernama) -- Brake failure might have caused a tourist bus ferrying 24 Indian nationals from Genting Highlands to Kuala Lumpur, to crash at the 4.5km Genting Highlands-Genting Sempah stretch on Monday. As a result, the bus driver was believed to have lost control of the vehicle which struck a divider and overturned, leaving two passengers dead and several others seriously injured. "The police have not ruled out this probability as joint investigations with Puspakom (Malaysian Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre) are underway to determine the cause of the crash," Bentong police chief Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri told Bernama when contacted Tuesday. He said two bus drivers, who sustained head and body injuries, had been warded at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), adding they were under remand to facilitate investigations. Meanwhile, Selayang Hospital deputy director Dr Mohd Suhaimi Abd Majid said four of the accident victims were warded in critical condition, five in stable condition and nine others were undergoing treatment. An HKL spokesman said two Indian nationals who underwent treatment had been discharged and arrangements were being made to send them back to India. They were identifed as Sharma Kamlesh, 23, and Rajeev, 27. The spokesman said 11 others were still warded at the hospital, describing their condition as stable. In a related development, the remains of the deceased, Anita Aggarwal, 59, and Rajindra Kumar Agarwal, 67, will be sent to India on Tuesday or Wednesday. India High Commission Counsellor Aseem Raja Mahajan said the bodies would be sent home via special flight. "We are trying to expedite the formalities and have contacted their next-of-kin in Uttar Pradesh, India," he told Bernama here. -- BERNAMA