Victims and families of Gerik tragedy experience trauma
JERTIH: The bus accident involving students of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) on East-West Highway (JRTB), near Gerik, Perak on June 9, not only left an impact on the victims, but also caused trauma to the family members of the victims involved.
Deputy Minister of Women, Family and Community Development Datuk Seri Dr Noraini Ahmad said that the results of a visit to the homes of the families of deceased and injured victims found that the tragedy has caused some of them to be afraid to ride in vehicles, especially buses.
'What I have seen is that not only the victims themselves, but some of the family members are also traumatised, especially when it comes to riding in vehicles. So our focus (the ministry) now is, among other things, to cheer them up and ensure that they can return to their normal lives,' she said.
She said this after visiting one of the students from Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) who was injured in the accident, Nur Ain Najwa Mohd Ilias, 23, at her home in Kampung Gong Kemuntong, here today.
Noraini said to overcome the problem, the ministry has provided the services of 20 counsellors including from the Local Social Support Centre (PSSS) who are ready to be deployed to the victims' homes in Besut and Setiu.
In fact, she said, counsellors from UPSI and other universities as well as from nearby hospitals also offered such services to the victims and family members involved.
'Thank God, in this trying time, we see many parties from all over Malaysia coming together to help,' she said.
In the early morning incident on June 9, 15 UPSI students died when a chartered bus from Jertih to return to the university's main campus in Tanjung Malim, Perak overturned after being involved in an accident with a Perodua Alza at JRTB.
The crash left 33 others injured, including the bus driver and attendant, as well as the driver and three passengers of the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).
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