GERIK, June 9 — At least 15 people were killed and dozens more injured after a crash involving a Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI) bus and a Perodua Alza on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding here early this morning, around 1am.

The collision

The bus was transporting students from Jerteh, Terengganu, to UPSI’s main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak.

It overturned near Tasik Banding around 1am after colliding with a Perodua Alza, which skidded into a ditch.

Some victims were thrown from the vehicles, while others managed to escape.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

The victims

The Civil Defence Force confirmed that 13 people died at the scene, and two more died later in hospital.

The injured numbered 33, 27 seriously.

All the bus passengers were students from Besut and Setiu, Terengganu.

Subsequent reports have since listed 42 UPSI students aged between 21 and 23 were in the bus instead of the 44 on the passenger manifesto.

The bus driver, aged 40, and his co-driver, 54, were among the injured.

A family of four in the Perodua Alza comprising two adults and their two children aged two and six were also injured; the father has since been discharged but the others remain hospitalised at Baling Hospital in Kedah.

The rescue effort

Emergency services received a distress call at 1.10am and arrived at the scene by 2.11am.

Seventeen personnel from the Gerik and Jeli Fire and Rescue Stations responded.

They were supported by police and Civil Defence Force officers.

Firefighters had to cut open the back of the bus to free trapped passengers.

Injured victims were taken to four government facilities: Gerik Hospital, Taiping Hospital, Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital, which are all in Perak, and Baling Hospital in Kedah.

National response

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he and his wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail were deeply saddened by the tragedy.

"This heartbreaking disaster, which happens all too often, should serve as a lesson for everyone to always be careful and never rush toward a destination,” Anwar said.

Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir confirmed UPSI students were among the victims and said the ministry would coordinate necessary support for the families.

UPSI statement

UPSI confirmed that 42 of its students were on board the bus, adding that originally, 44 students were supposed to board the bus, but two of them did not.

The university has activated an operations room and requests that any information be channelled to its office tel: 05-450 7148, or hotline tel: 019-571 9977.

Narrow escape

One UPSI student known only as Alia, who was listed as a bus passenger, said she had changed her plans and returned to campus early.

"I was supposed to be on that bus last night, but I went back to UPSI earlier instead,” she told Malay daily Berita Harian.

She woke at 3am to the news and was shocked that many assumed she had died in the crash.

Another UPSI student identified as Nur Adilah Mohd Rusdi missed taking the bus by 15 minutes due to a traffic congestion.

Samaritan’s desperate bid to stop UPSI bus engine

A samaritan who arrived at the scene of the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) bus crash shortly after it occurred said he attempted to turn off the bus engine, fearing it might ignite a fire, but was unsuccessful.

Shahruldi Mahafiz, 52, was driving home to Besut after dropping off his daughter at UiTM Seri Iskandar when he stumbled upon the aftermath of the UPSI bus crash. After a short rest at Gerik R&R around 12.30am, he resumed his journey and saw vehicles flashing high beams — a warning of trouble ahead. When he reached the scene, he found the bus overturned, with chaos all around: panicked passengers, scattered belongings, and motionless victims.

Acting on instinct, Shahruldi rushed to help. Fearing the bus engine might catch fire, he tried to shut it down but failed, even with the driver’s help. Drawing on past experience with roadside emergencies, he crawled to access the switch box near the exhaust to attempt a manual shutdown — all while livestreaming the incident on Facebook.

Bus firm denies claims it used lorry driver as back-up

The owner of the company that operated the bus involved in this morning’s fatal accident on the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding in Gerik, Perak, has denied allegations that his firm used a lorry driver as a back-up driver.

Syarikat Kenari Utara operations officer Mohd Nazri Nawi dismissed the allegations, saying they had carried out proper scrutiny and vetting processes before hiring him to replace one of the original drivers, who was still on leave.

"I don’t know how this allegation surfaced or who it was who claimed that we hired a lorry driver as the replacement driver. We have never hired bus drivers at random without proper vetting.

"We admit that the replacement driver was from another bus company, but he is an experienced bus driver and has driven long distances. Not a lorry driver as alleged,” he told reporters at the Noreen Group Operations Office in Tunjong, Kota Baru, Kelantan today.

Psychosocial support to families of deceased victims

Women, Family, and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri has given the assurance that the ministry will promptly provide the necessary psychosocial support, counselling, and assistance to the families of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students killed in a bus crash along the East-West Highway, in Gerik, Perak, early this morning.

She said Social Welfare Department officers would be mobilised to assist the victims’ families, particularly in managing their emotional well-being and overall welfare.

Sultan of Perak issues decree

The Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah, has called for immediate preventive measures in light of the rising number of deadly road accidents.

In a statement issued by his Royal Comptroller, Meor Hezbullah Meor Abd Malik, it was conveyed that the Sultan urged authorities to treat the tragic crash that killed 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students on the East-West Highway as a wake-up call. He stressed the need to identify and address existing shortcomings — particularly in enforcement of laws and regulations—to help avert similar tragedies in the future.

Six UPSI students killed in Gerik crash identified

Six of the 15 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students who died in a fatal accident at KM53 of the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding, Gerik, early this morning have been identified.

According to a statement from UPSI’s Corporate Communications Division, four of the deceased were named as Sufea Adela Maslihaizan, 21, from Kampung Air Terjun, Jertih; Mohammad Aqil Taqiudin, 21, from Kampung Gong Bayor, Besut; Anis Soffiyya Md Zaidi, 20, from Kampung Rahmat, Chalok, Setiu; and Nur Ainul Qistina Mat Ali, 21, from Lorong Tapah, Kampung Anak Ikan, Jertih. Their post-mortems were carried out at the Forensics Department of Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) here.

The remaining two victims, whose post-mortems were conducted at Hospital Gerik, were identified as Muhammad Adib Hazim Halim, 21, from Kampung Pasir Badak, Jertih, and Wan Nur Suhaila Wan Muhammad, 22, from Jalan Gong Maksom, Kampung Amir, Besut.

Students bid final farewell

A group of 160 Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) students have set off for Jerteh, Terengganu, to pay their final respects to their peers who lost their lives in a tragic crash along the East-West Highway near Tasik Banding, Gerik, earlier today.

The students, travelling in four buses arranged by the university, departed at 5:25pm and are expected to arrive in Jerteh later tonight.

UPSI Student Affairs Division Cultural Officer, Mohd Halim Mat Zaki, said the students will be divided into smaller groups to visit the victims' family homes.

What’s next

Police have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Preliminary investigations indicated the bus rear-ended the Perodua Alza, sending the MPV into the ditch. The bus overturned, throwing a number of its passengers out of the windows.

Authorities have yet to release full details of the victims’ identities pending the completion of the post-mortem examinations.