FORTY-four passengers on a tour bus heading to Kuala Lumpur from Skudai escaped unhurt after the vehicle caught fire at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) toll plaza in Serdang at 6.13am today.

Sepang police chief Wan Kamarul Azran Wan Yusof in a statement said the passengers and bus driver managed to get off the vehicle in time.

“The bus was completely burnt and the roof of the UPM toll booth also caught fire,” he said.

Wan Kamarul said investigations revealed that the incident occurred due to a clutch failure.

“According to the 41-year-old driver, he tried to press the clutch about 50m from the toll plaza and felt resistance, and the bus halted in the lane.

“A passenger shouted that there was a fire at the back of the bus, and the driver then noticed the fire raging through the rearview mirror,” he said, adding that the fire was extinguished by the Serdang Fire and Rescue Department within an hour after it arrived at 6.26am. 

PLUS in a statement said it reopened exit lanes at the UPM intersection at 11am following the incident. 

“The leftmost exit lane at the toll plaza is still closed for repair and maintenance,” it said. – Bernama, January 22, 2023.