Penningtons Manches calls for greater international safety standards following Malaysian bus crash death

Posted: 23/04/2014

Harry Woolhouse, a 32 year old chemical engineer from Peterborough, is the latest British victim of a bus accident abroad. Mr Woolhouse lived and worked in neighbouring Singapore but was on a tourist bus in Malaysia when tragedy struck. The driver of the double decker bus lost control and the bus slid down a 50 foot ravine. Mr Woolhouse did not survive his injuries and 37 other tourists (another of whom was also British) suffered varying degrees of injury. It is thought that the driver sustained a spinal cord injury.

Although the cause of the accident is still under investigation, this is not an isolated incident. In a similar accident last year, 37 people were killed when their bus plunged into a ravine on the way down from a highland casino resort near the capital Kuala Lumpur. The recently published official crash report made 51 recommendations, including improving working conditions for drivers and making roads safer through safety barriers and signage but these have yet to be implemented. The story was widely reported in The Daily Telegraph - click here.

Warren Collins, international personal injuries lawyer at Penningtons Manches, has handled many claims arising out of similar bus accidents abroad. He commented: “This is a tragic story but I fear that, despite many similar incidents, lessons will not be learned by the international community. Driving and safety standards vary tremendously around the world. Having represented groups of victims of fatal bus disasters in France and Egypt and survivors from similar accidents around the world, we must do all we can to ensure that safety standards are set and followed all over the world.”

Return to news headlines