ROMPIN: The death toll of the tour bus accident with a trailer at Km126 of Jalan Kuantan-Segamat near Muadzam Shah here has risen to three, after another victim died while receiving treatment in Kuantan.
Teacher Hamzah Ahmad, 60, died at the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital (HTAA) in Kuantan where he was brought for treatment.
Rompin police chief Deputy Superintendent Nor Azman Yusof said Hamzah is the second teacher killed in the crash after Hasnatul Adilah Hassan, 48, succumbed to injuries at the accident scene.
He said the tour bus second driver Hadi Asyraf Mad Idris, 29, had earlier died on the way to the Muadzam Shah Hospital.
In the 12.40am accident, the bus ferrying 39 people consisting of several teachers from Melaka who were travelling to Terengganu had crashed into a trailer at the Bahau junction before it flipped over on its side in a slope.
It was reported the bus was ferrying teachers from SK Jeram in Masjid Tanah, Melaka, along with their children to attend a programme in Terengganu.
Meanwhile, Nor Azman said investigations revealed that the bus was travelling from Seremban, Negri Sembilan towards Kuantan when the driver failed to control the vehicle upon reaching the Bahau junction.
"The bus driver failed to stop his vehicle and crashed into the trailer which was travelling towards Segamat. The bus had a total of 37 passengers and two drivers.
"All the victims were taken to Muadzam Shah Hospital in Rompin and HTAA in Kuantan. The lorry driver escaped unhurt," he said in a statement today.
Nor Azman said the accident was being probed under Section 41 (1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by careless driving.
He urged witnesses or those with information to contact investigating officer Inspector Nurul Iffah Kamaruddin at 019-9169509 or any nearest police station to assist investigations.