The Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) said the manner in which the driver had navigated the winding road on the way down was among the reasons the accident occurred, Berita Harian reported.

Miros head of operations and crash data management, Ahmad Noor Syukri Zainal Abidin, said the condition of the road was among other factors that contributed to the crash.

“Based on our findings, there are several factors, including the driver and the way he was driving down a hilly road with twists and turns,” he was quoted as saying.

Contributing factors were the condition of the van and the speed mitigation infrastructures to reduce the speed of vehicles.

The accident involved a chartered van that crashed while on its way to Penang from Genting Highlands at 1.15pm on Wednesday.

There were 13 passengers on board. The van went out of control while going downhill before crashing into a concrete divider, severely damaging the front of the vehicle.

Six victims, including the driver, died on the spot. The seventh victim, who was the co-driver, died while being treated at Kuala Lumpur Hospital while the eighth victim, a passenger aged 73, died in hospital at 1.46pm yesterday.