KUALA LUMPUR - A Singaporean woman died after she was thrown out of a double-decker bus following a road accident in Malaysia's Negeri Sembilan state on Friday (Dec 7).

The woman, identified as 27-year-old Serina Mat Idris, was seated on the upper deck of the bus travelling to Genting Highlands from Singapore when the incident occurred at 11.50am on the North-South Expressway near Seremban.

She was found sprawled several metres away from the vehicle.

State Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis said Ms Serina was one of three Singaporeans who were involved in the tragedy.

"Ms Serina died at the scene, while her countrymen escaped with minor injuries. In all, there were five people who were injured - three Singaporeans and two Malaysians. One of them is a lorry driver," he told The Straits Times.

A preliminary report suggested that the bus had rammed into the back of a lorry.

The other Singaporean is believed to be Ms Serina's sister, Yusrina Mat Idris, 32, while the other Singaporean, a man, could not as yet be identified.

Mr Norazam said the victims were sent to Tuanku Jaafar Hospital in Seremban for treatment. The post-mortem on Ms Serina is expected to be conducted on Saturday.

According to Mr Norazam, the rescue team took about 30 minutes to extricate the bus driver, who was trapped in his seat.

When contacted by The Straits Times on Friday, a Transtar Travel spokesman confirmed that one of its Solitaire buses was involved in the accident.

There were 17 passengers on the bus, of which four passengers have continued their journey to Genting Highlands on another Transtar coach.

The bus involved in the accident had departed Singapore at 5.45am on Friday morning and was scheduled to reach Genting Highlands between 1pm and 2pm, the spokesman said.

The company's Kuala Lumpur team is currently handling the matter and assisting the remaining passengers, the Transtar spokesman added.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country's High Commission in Kuala Lumpur is in touch with Ms Serina's family and extending consular assistance.

A Transtar bus was involved in an accident in April this year, where one person died and 13 others, mainly Singaporeans, were injured after the bus rammed into another vehicle on Malaysia's Karak-Kuala Lumpur Expressway.

Additional reporting by Choo Yun Ting