19 taken to hospital after bus en route to S'pore crashes in KL

Nineteen people were taken to hospital after a double-decker tour bus en route from Ipoh to Singapore crashed in Kuala Lumpur early on Thursday.

Only one of the 24 passengers, a six-year-old girl, is Singaporean, and she was unhurt, according to Chinese-language evening daily Shin Min Daily News. The others are said to be Malaysians.

It is believed that the bus crashed into a concrete road divider and overturned when the driver lost control along Jalan Damansara in Kuala Lumpur at about 12.05am.

The Malaysia Civil Defence Force said on Facebook on Thursday that it was alerted to the accident at about 12.40am.

Its personnel, along with those from a fire station in Kuala Lumpur, took the injured passengers to Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

A video by the Malaysian media showed the bus on its side with its front windscreen shattered. Malaysian reports said firemen broke the windscreen to rescue those trapped inside the vehicle.

The bus belongs to Malaysian operator Sri Maju, which provides services between Singapore and Malaysia.

The Straits Times has contacted Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Maju and the Malaysian police for comment.

This accident comes in the wake of another last week involving Singaporeans in Malaysia.

On July 13, a tour bus carrying 20 passengers, mostly Singaporeans, collided with a lorry in the early hours on Karak Expressway near Genting Highlands.

The bus, run by Singapore operator Transtar Travel, was headed to Genting Highlands from Singapore. Two Singaporeans were hospitalised in Selayang Hospital on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur.