PUTRAJAYA, April 8 — Ten foreign workers on their way to work were killed when a bus they were travelling in plunged into a drain near the MASKargo area in Sepang last night.

Also killed in the crash, which occurred at about 11.10pm yesterday, was the bus driver, who is a local, said KLIA district police chief ACP Zulkifli Adamshah.

He said six of the victims, including the bus driver, died at the scene, while the other two, at Serdang Hospital and Putrajaya Hospital, respectively.

"It’s the first fatal crash to occur at the place. It is not a dangerous area and the weather was also fine last night,” he said when met at Serdang Hospital.

According to the Fire and Rescue Station, the bus, which was carrying 43 passengers, plunged four metres into the 20-metre deep drain.

When the firemen arrived, they found all the passengers and the driver trapped in the bus.

Zulkifli said the passengers who died in the crash comprised three Indonesians, two Bangladeshi nationals and five Nepalese nationals.

Their respective embassies have been informed on the incident, he added.

He said passengers who were injured in the crash were sent to Serdang Hospital, Putrajaya Hospital, Banting Hospital and Kajang Hospital for treatment.

Zulkifli said preliminary investigation found that the bus was carrying 43 MASKargo contract workers, who are all foreigners, from their hostel in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, to their work place when the crash occurred.

The workers were supposed to start work for the midnight shift, he said, adding that the police would investigate to determine why the bus was not heading towards the MASKargo building, but towards the engineering building or the airport hangar.

Zulkifli said the bus driver had no record for traffic offence.

The Operations Centre of the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department said 37 firemen in five engines from the fire and rescue stations in KLIA, Cyberjaya and Sepang rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call.

In Putrajaya, manpower agency Mutiara Kayamas Sdn Bhd said the 44 people, including the bus driver, involved in the crash were its employees.

Its human resource executive, Nur Nadiah Wahab said the company would provide the necessary assistance to those injured in the crash.

She said 16 of the workers were admitted to the emergency ward at Putrajaya Hospital, where one of them died during treatment.

Others injured were admitted to the Serdang Hospital, Banting Hospital and Kajang Hospital.

"For those killed in the crash, we will provide the necessary assistance to send their bodies to their respective country of origin,” she said when contacted.

Meanwhile, at Putrajaya Hospital, representatives from the company were seen accompanying seven of the victims in the crash leaving the hospital, but they (victims) were not allowed to speak to the media.

It is learnt that they would be sent to a private hospital for treatment. — Bernama