YONG PENG: Three Chinese tourists were killed and 11 others were seriously injured in an accident involving two buses and a lorry at Km 94.1 of the North-South expressway in Yong Peng at 5.15pm today.
Batu Pahat district police chief Assistant Commissioner Din Ahmad said the dead were three women in their 20s, who were killed instantly in the crash.
He said the incident occurred when the 46-year-old lorry driver lost control of his vehicle due to a punctured tyre. The lorry, which was on the northbound lane, crashed through the divider before ramming into the two buses in the opposite lane.
"The lorry crashed into the right side of the first bus, and later it crashed into the front part of the second bus," said Din.
Yong Peng Fire and Rescue station operations officer, Bakariya Mohd Salleh said the first bus was ferrying tourists from China.
The lorry driver was injured but the 24 passengers in the second bus were not injured.
Bakariya said the identities of the three women were still being determined as rescuers were retrieving passports from the location.
"Passports were seen scattered on the expressway. Those who survived were traumatised when met at the scene.
"The victims have been sent to Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail, Batu Pahat," he said.