Fifteen people, mostly university students, were killed in a predawn crash on Monday between a car and a university bus along Malaysia’s notoriously dangerous East-West Highway. In the deadliest road accident to strike the country in several years, 13 people were killed at the scene, while two others died in hospital, according to Malaysia’s Civil Defence Force (APM). Thirty-three others were injured, including seven whose condition was critical. The crash occurred around 1.10am along a remote stretch of the jungle-lined road. Emergency responders found the bus from Sultan Idris Education University overturned, with the mangled car nearby. “Several injured victims were rushed to Gerik Hospital. Among them were those with broken arms, broken legs and minor injuries,” APM said. The bus was travelling from Jerteh, in Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, back to its main campus in Tanjung Malim, an hour north of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. “The bus overturned and the minivan slid into a ditch,” the Perak state disaster management authority said, according to Agence France-Presse. “Some victims managed to get out on their own, some victims were thrown out while others were still [trapped] in the bus.” A hydraulic cutter was needed to rescue and retrieve some of the victims in the bus, rescue services said.

Full report : 15 killed in Malaysian university bus crash near Thailand border.