5 family members burnt to death in Perak accident along North-South Expressway
07 October, 2018
A two-vehicle collision on Saturday (Oct 6) involving a trailer and a car along the North-South Expressway (NSE) in the Malaysian state of Perak resulted in five family members being burnt to death.
The tragedy struck around 11.45am after the Menora tunnel when the victims were travelling in the car. Their identities have yet to be ascertained.
State traffic investigation and enforcement department head, superintendent Ahmad Adnan Basri, said the trailer had lost control and veered onto the right lane before squeezing and grazing several other vehicles.
“The car was caught in between the trailer on the left and the concrete barrier on the right before both vehicles caught fire.
He said the victims were unable to escape as they were pinned to their seats due to impact of the collision and all the bodies were sent to the Kuala Kangsar Hospital for further action.
“I heard a woman’s voice crying for help once the fire broke out,” said Nurul Amelia Amran who was travelling from Kuala Kangsar to Ipoh when she spotted the incident at about 11.54am.
“From a distance I saw the trailer swerved onto the right lane and grazed several vehicles before I heard a loud bang, and soon enough I saw the flames.
“As we arrived at the scene, I saw the car was hit by the trailer and the fire was raging,” she told reporters at the Kuala Kangsar Hospital forensic unit.
“We (road users) couldn’t do anything because the fire was raging,” she said.
According to the Star Online, fire and rescue personnel took more than four hours to put out the fire.
The trailer was transporting iron ore from Johor to Penang, the report added.