At least 15 people were killed when a bus carrying university students smashed into a minivan in northern Malaysia early Monday, local rescue services said.
Thirteen victims died at the scene near the town of Gerik, on the busy East-West Highway close to the Thailand border, while two died in hospital.
Thirty-three others were injured, including seven whose condition was critical, rescue services said in a revised statement.
“The bus overturned and the minivan slid into a ditch,” the Perak state disaster management authority said.
“Some victims managed to get out on their own, some victims were thrown out while others were still (trapped) in the bus,” the authority added.
The bus was carrying students from the Sultan Idris Education University, north of Kuala Lumpur, when it collided with the minivan at around 1:00 am on Monday (1700 GMT on Sunday).
Rescue services said a hydraulic cutter was needed to free six of the victims in the bus.
“Four had died and two others were seriously injured,” the rescue services said.
Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered the Southeast Asian nation’s Higher Education Ministry to help the victim’s families.
Anwar said in a Facebook post he and his wife Azizah were “deeply saddened” by the tragedy.
“Heartbreaking disasters like these that are repeated often should be a lesson to all to be careful and not to rush to pursue the destination,” Anwar said.
“Your lives are too precious and can’t be replaced,” he added.
Malaysia has a high rate of traffic accidents, with The Star daily newspaper saying in March that a life was lost every two hours on the country’s busy roads.
The East-West Highway, which connects the two seaboards of the Malaysian peninsula, is notorious for accidents — especially for collisions between animals and vehicles.
