IPOH, April 21 — A total of 16 individuals had some anxious moments when an express bus they were on caught fire at Km242.3 of the North South Expressway (PLUS) northbound at midnight.

Operations Commander of the Fire and Rescue Department, Senior Fire Officer II Mohd Fawwaz Abdul Jamil said his department deployed personnel and machinery from the Kuala Kangsar and Meru Raya Fire and Rescue Stations (BBP) to the location upon receiving the call at approximately 12.01 midnight.

"In the incident, the express bus was estimated to have been 80 per cent burned up.

"There were 16 victims inside, including the driver, who were safe and were transferred to another bus when the fire brigade arrived at the scene,” he said in a statement via JBPM’s Facebook page today.

He said the fire brigade arrived at the location and brought the flame under control at 12.51 midnight and completely extinguished it at 1.34am. — Bernama