"I woke up to find a body lying on top of me": Survivor recalls the terrifying Gerik bus crash.

GERIK, June 11 — The fatal crash at KM53 of the East-West Highway (JRTB) near Tasik Banding, Gerik, which claimed the lives of 15 students from Sultan Idris Education University (UPSI), has undoubtedly left a lasting psychological impact on the survivors.

One of them, 23-year-old Abdul Wafiy Kamarudin, recounted the horrifying experience to Bernama. He described the moment of impact as so violent that he was thrown from the bus, only to find a victim’s body on top of him.

A sixth-semester student pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education, Abdul Wafiy said he had been looking at his phone in the dimness of the night but could feel the bus speeding down a winding, hilly road.

According to him, the bus driver had briefly stopped earlier to check the brakes before continuing the journey. However, around 1am, the vehicle suddenly overturned.

“I was thrown out the window and landed in a drain. Everything was in chaos... and the shock was overwhelming when I realised a body had landed on me. I had to push it off just to get up and save myself,” he said when met at the Gerik district police headquarters (IPD) yesterday while collecting his personal items.

The youngest of six siblings from Kampung Pak Kancil, Setiu in Terengganu, Abdul Wafiy expressed gratitude for surviving with only minor injuries to his hands and face.

Meanwhile, Mohd Zaki Ismail, the father of 21-year-old victim Rohadatul Aisy, shared that his daughter had contacted him around 3am to inform him of the crash.

“She told me she couldn’t move because of pain in her neck and waist, but a friend had helped carry her out of the bus,” he said.

Zaki immediately drove from Kampung Gong Badang in Besut, Terengganu at 8am and arrived at Gerik Hospital, where he learned that his daughter had sustained a fractured hip. She has since been transferred to Besut Hospital for further treatment.

He and his wife, Norliza Ghazali, are currently in Gerik to collect their daughter’s personal belongings from the police station.

The tragic accident occurred in the early hours of Monday when a chartered bus traveling from Jertih to Tanjung Malim overturned after colliding with a Perodua Alza at the JRTB near Tasik Banding.

In total, 15 UPSI students were killed, and 33 others were injured, including the bus driver, conductor, and all four occupants of the multi-purpose vehicle. — Bernama