Tourist Van Skids in Pahang, Hits Divider, Two Dead, Five Injured, Emergency Crews Rush To Scene

Kuantan, Malaysia— A tourist van carrying foreign and local visitors skidded on a wet stretch of highway in Pahang on the afternoon of October 20, slammed into a concrete divider, and spun, killing two passengers and injuring five others.

The van, a 12-seater Toyota Hiace operating a private tour from Kuala Lumpur to Taman Negara, crashed at 3:10 p.m. near Kilometer 78 of the Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway, a winding segment notorious for accidents during rain. Police said the driver lost control while overtaking a lorry on a downhill curve. The rear tires hydroplaned, the van fishtailed, and the front end struck the central divider at high speed.

Two passengers, a 28-year-old French woman and a 35-year-old Malaysian man, died at the scene from head injuries. They were seated in the middle row. Five others, including the driver, were taken to Temerloh Hospital. Two are in critical condition with chest trauma. Bernama reported the van was carrying seven tourists, mostly Europeans booked through an online travel agency.

The Karak Highway cuts through the Titiwangsa Mountains and is slick when wet. The section where the crash occurred has no street lighting and a history of fatal skids. A traffic police officer at the scene said, "The road was wet, the tires were bald. We found the tread depth below legal limit. Speed plus water equals no control."

Survivors said the driver had been driving fast to make up time after a late departure. One injured tourist, a German backpacker, told police from his hospital bed, "He was overtaking everywhere. We told him to slow down. He said we would miss the boat tour."

Tourist vans in Malaysia operate in a gray zone. Many are private vehicles registered for personal use but hired out for tours without proper licensing or insurance. The Transport Ministry said the van involved was operating without a valid tourism vehicle permit. Its road tax had expired in August.

Bernama reported the driver, aged 41, tested negative for alcohol but had three prior speeding summonses this year. He is under police custody pending investigation for dangerous driving causing death.

The highway was partially blocked for two hours, causing a 5-kilometer tailback. The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research said it has repeatedly urged authorities to install rumble strips and better drainage on the Karak route, where 67 deaths were recorded last year.

The van remains impounded at Bentong police station. The injured remain hospitalized.