Gerik Bus Crash: Survivor Still Hears Cries For Help, Lost Two Close Friends

KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 (Bernama) -- One of the survivors of the bus crash that killed 15 Universiti Perguruan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students four days ago said that he could still hear his peers' cries for help on that fateful night.

Recalling the harrowing moment, 21-year-old Tuan Muhammad Adham Tuan Adnan said he was seated on the right side of the third row from the back, with his three close friends a few seats away.

"I was sleeping, so I'm not sure whether the bus was speeding or not. Just before it overturned, I woke up…I heard loud noises, and the next thing I knew, I was already in a ditch," he said when contacted by Bernama Radio today.

Tuan Muhammad Adham, who is pursuing a degree in Education (Malay Language), said that with what little strength he had left and with the help of other survivors, he managed to climb out of the ditch.

"I finally saw (the gravity of) the situation…there were bodies in front of me, people were screaming for help, and some were still trapped inside the bus," he added.

Tuan Muhammad Adham, who sustained a fractured upper arm, is receiving treatment at Taiping Hospital in Perak.

He said two of his close friends lost their lives that night, and another friend sustained injuries on his shoulders.

On Monday, the chartered bus en route from Jertih to UPSI's main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak, overturned after colliding with a Perodua Alza multipurpose vehicle along the East Coast Highway in Gerik.

Thirty-three people were also injured, including the bus driver and his assistant, as well as the driver and three passengers of the Perodua Alza.

-- BERNAMA