Singaporeans Escape From Burning Five Stars Express Coach Bound For Singapore

SINGAPORE: A Five Stars Express coach travelling from Ipoh to Singapore caught fire along Malaysia’s North-South Highway early Sunday (Jul 12) morning.

According to a spokesperson from Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, no one was injured, and the passengers managed to continue their journey to Singapore.

“We have not been approached for assistance by any Singaporeans in this case,” the spokesperson added.

Michelle Lim, a passenger on the bus, which was travelling from Ipoh’s Jalan Bendahara to Golden Mile Complex in Singapore, told Channel NewsAsia she smelled burning odour about three-and-a-half hours into the journey at 1.30am. She said there were about 20 passengers travelling on the coach.

The fire happened along the highway after Jasin, Melaka and near Tangkak, Johor, said The One Travel & Tours Bus Service, the agency operating the bus route.

“At around 2am, the bus driver sensed something was wrong and pulled up along the round shoulder,” Ms Lim said. “The driver ordered passengers to disembark from the bus after thin smoke was seen inside the bus. The passengers disembarked in an orderly fashion and the bus driver’s assistant helped retrieve belongings from inside the bus as well as from the luggage hold.”

She added: “After we got out, the bus caught fire and was engulfed in thick smoke – and both the driver and his assistant were pouring buckets of water to put out the blaze.”

Although most passengers retrieved most of their belongings and luggage, some left their passports behind in the coach, according to Ms Lim.

At 2.30am, another coach, operated by TransStar, arrived on the scene to pick up Ms Lim, her husband and two other passengers. The rest of the passengers remained at the site waiting for other buses to pick them up.