Perak police chief Noor Hisam Nordin said the case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987 for causing death by dangerous driving.

“We will examine all possible factors, including technical malfunctions and human negligence. The road on which the crash occurred was downhill and winding. Every possibility will be thoroughly investigated.

“The crash is being investigated and updates will be provided in due course,” he told a press conference today.

He also said that preliminary investigations found that the accident site was neither slippery nor wet, although it was dimly lit.

Asked whether the 40-year-old bus driver was speeding at the time of the incident, Noor Hisam said that the matter remained mere speculation for now.

A netizen had claimed in a social media post that the bus overtook his vehicle at high speed.

The accident took place on the Gerik-Jeli East West Highway, near Tasik Banding. It is understood that the bus had been travelling from Jerteh, Terengganu, to Tanjung Malim, Perak.

A total of 48 victims were involved: 42 students, the bus driver and his assistant, and a married couple along with their six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, who were in a Perodua Alza the bus collided with.

Thirteen of the UPSI students died at the scene and two at the hospital. Four people were injured.

Perak fire and rescue department director Sayani Saidon earlier said the bus and the MPV had been travelling in the same direction from Jeli, Kelantan, to Gerik.

She said the crash caused the bus to overturn and the MPV to skid into a ditch.