Bus Crash Kills 20 In Malaysia's Perak State

Twenty people were killed and several others critically injured on Monday in a bus crash thought to be one of Malaysia's worst traffic accidents.

The driver apparently lost control of the vehicle which skidded before overturning near a village in northern Perak state, the official Bernama news agency said.

The accident left seven people in critical condition.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi blamed human error for the crash, saying the road was well maintained and was "in first class order".

"We provide the best facility, we've maintained it well and yet human error, human carelessness, has caused the accident that involved the deaths of many people," Abdullah said in an address to a business forum.

"At this moment 20 have died," he said.

A police official in the area told AFP that two foreigners - an Indonesian and a Thai - were among the casualties.

A police spokesman quoted by Bernama said the bus was driving downhill when it hit a barrier, skidded and overturned before ending up in a ditch.

Passengers were flung out or were pinned inside the vehicle, which Bernama said was reduced to a "mangled heap". - AFP