'F***ing stop the bus!': Passengers panic as sparks fall from ceiling on Singapore-KL coach
A routine Singapore–Kuala Lumpur coach journey turned chaotic after sparks were seen appearing from a ceiling vent on a Starmart Express bus, sending passengers into a panic amid fears of a fire.
A 30-second video of the incident, filmed on Dec 5, shows a ceiling vent glowing as sparks fall near seated passengers.
Some passengers can be seen standing up in alarm, while others remain seated, using their phone torches to light up the dimly lit bus.
In the clip, one passenger is heard repeatedly shouting at the driver in an expletive-laden outburst: "Hey, stop the bus! F***ing stop the bus! Open the gate, open the f***ing gate!"
Others soon join in, shouting "fire, fire" and urging the driver to stop the vehicle.
However, the bus does not stop immediately. At one point, a voice can be heard saying "it is highway", suggesting that it may not have been safe to stop the bus and allow passengers to disembark at that stretch of road.
Posted on Dec 18 by @thesgdaily, the clip has since garnered more than 324,200 views, 6,200 reactions and 345 comments.
Later in the video, a photo shows a bus bearing the name KS Global Holidays, a Malaysia-registered travel agency. Its licence plate also indicates that the vehicle is registered in Malaysia.
However, it is unclear whether this was the same bus involved in the incident.
The video also shows an invoice for a service travelling from Singapore to Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur, operated by Starmart Express AirAsia Liner, which departed Singapore on Dec 5 at 11.32pm.
Again, it remains unclear whether this invoice corresponds to the bus involved in the incident.
'Open the gate? What gate?': Netizen
Some netizens were quick to poke fun at what appeared to be a slip of the tongue, after the passenger was heard shouting for the driver to "open the gate" instead of the door.
"Panic already, want to say door become gate," one user commented, while another joked "There's two gates, bus gate and hell gate. Which gate?"
Others took a more serious view, saying the fear was "absolutely understandable" given how quickly fires can spread in enclosed spaces.
Some directed criticism at the driver, questioning why the bus did not stop sooner.
"Sorry, bus is on auto drive mode. Driver may not be responding," joked a user, while another asked bluntly: "Why take so long to stop the bus?"
Still others raised concerns about onboard safety measures, asking: "Why no fire extinguisher? Emergency exit? Break glass?"
"Hopefully everyone safe and sound," one wrote.
There was also speculation about the cause of the sparks, with some suggesting a faulty power bank, while others believed it could have been due to overheating components, as the sparks appeared to come from the ceiling.
"That is why i will always take flight to KL, the drivers and the bus are not reliable," one user remarked.
Meanwhile, another quipped: "Coincidentally, there's an option to travel using the express train that recently started."
Stomp has reached out to KS Global Holidays and Starmart Express for comment.
