Higher Education Ministry to bring back bodies of two students killed in NZ crash

LUMUT: The Higher Education Ministry will assist to bring back the remains of two Malaysian students who were killed in a road accident in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand on Saturday.

Its Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said the ministry is getting feedback and complete information regarding the students from Wisma Putra.

“So far, we do not have complete information regarding the matter.

“The ministry will assist in matters related to the requirements to ensure that the process, including bringing back the remains and others, runs smoothly.

“However, we will leave it to the families first because discussions need to be held with the families involved regarding the funeral arrangements,” he told reporters after presenting donations to 70 students, mosques and suraus in the Manjung district during the Breaking Fast with Umno Lumut Division programme at Maahad Tahfiz Bayt Al Ikhlas here Saturday (March 30).

Zambry, who expressed his condolences to the families involved, said the ministry is also getting further information regarding three other Malaysian students injured in the incident.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry through the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington, New Zealand, confirmed in a statement that two Malaysian students died in a road accident at Lake Tekapo at 1.45pm local time on Saturday.

The statement added that the accident involved five Malaysian students, with the remaining three airlifted to Christchurch Hospital on the South Island for urgent medical care.

A spokesperson for the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington, when contacted by BK, confirmed the names of the victims as Megat Ashman Aqif Megat Irman Jefni and Wan Nur Adlina Alisa who are both students at the University of Canterbury.

The three injured students are Nur Firas Wafiyyah and Lya Issable Anak Walton who are also students at the same university, and Muhamad Faris Mohd Fairusham from Victoria University of Wellington. – BK