1 dead and 12 injured after a bus carrying Japanese tourists crashes into a truck in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Japanese tourist died and 12 other people were injured when a tour bus crashed into the back of a truck on a highway in Malaysia, one of Japan's largest travel agencies said Friday.

JTB Corp. said the accident occurred on Thursday in Perak state in central Malaysia as the bus was traveling from Penang to the Cameron Highlands, a popular tourist destination with many tea plantations.

A woman in her 70s succumbed to her injuries and died, JTB President and CEO Eijiro Yamakita said at a news conference in Tokyo.

According to the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, there were three men and eight women from Japan on the bus, all seniors, as well as a bus driver and a local tour guide. It said all 13 victims were carried on stretchers and taken to hospital after initial treatment at the scene.

Yamakita said some of the survivors were seriously injured. He said their exact condition was unknown and the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Images provided by the fire department showed the front part of the bus was badly mangled and the windshield was shattered.

“As a travel agent, we truly regret this incident and sincerely apologize,” Yamakita said.

The company said it was cooperating fully with local authorities and the Japanese Embassy in Malaysia and had deployed staff from its Kuala Lumpur office and Tokyo to assist the passengers and their families.

Yamakita said the bus was rented from a local tour operator and that it met JTB's safety standards.

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AP writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed from Tokyo.