Witness Ahmad Fahmi Khairuddin,19, said he saw the bus “flying” and grazing an electrical pole, which caused sparks to fly, before the bus plunged into a ravine.

“I heard a loud sound. It was three times louder than that of a tyre explosion,” he said, when met at his house about 100 metres from the crash scene.

The Kolej Vokasional Kluang student said he was on holiday at home and was playing a board game with three friends outside the house when he saw the crash at 3.25 am.

They were shocked to see the crash and rushed over to the scene to offer help.

“I heard screams for help from the victims. My friends and I carried some of the victims to safety. There was panic all around,” he said.

Meanwhile, Khairuddin Abdullah, 49, said he woke and heard an explosion followed by screams by his son, Ahmad Fahmi, that a crash had happened just in front of their house.

Khairuddin, who is the headman of Kampung Jayor, said he phoned the MERS 999 Call Centre of the Civil Defence Department before informing the other villagers.

“Some of the villagers also used their motorcycles to illuminate the scene of the crash. The area is crash-prone,” he added.

The crash at Km 137.3 of North-South Expressway (north bound) killed 14 people and injured 16 others.