Less than a month ago, a family of four was killed in a chain collision on Malaysia’s North-South Expressway.
Sadly, another fatal accident involving four vehicles has occurred on the highway, this time taking two lives.
One of them was a 28-year-old woman who passed away at the scene while trapped in a car that burst into flames.
Her distraught husband, who got out safely, was heard screaming for her in a viral video.
In a Facebook post, the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department of Johor State said the tragic incident took place on Saturday (15 Oct) night.
They were alerted at 7.41pm and dispatched 18 officers to the scene at KM45.7 of the North-South Expressway in the southbound direction.
That puts the accident near Sedenak township in Kulai, Johor.
When the firefighters arrived, they found three vehicles on fire.
Two cars — a Proton Wira and Toyota Vios — were 90% consumed by fire, while an Isuzu lorry was 70% burnt.
A third car, a Proton Preve, was spared the flames.
Unfortunately, two people were also burnt to death at the scene.
One of them was a female passenger in the Proton Wira, identified as Nurul Nazihah Kamalul Arifin, 28. Her husband Redzuan Jamil, 30, managed to get out safely.
The other fatality was an unidentified person from the Toyota Vios.
Two men in the Isuzu lorry — Suresh Subramaniam, 38, and Mok You Jian, 22 — also survived, while the male driver of the Proton Preve, Bunayami Yahya, 43, was also safe.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
In a heartbreaking video that went viral on social media, Mr Redzuan can be heard screaming in anguish as his Proton Wira, with his wife stuck in it, is engulfed by the blaze.
As people restrain him, he called out, “Allah! Allahuakbar! I am not leaving you, (sa)yang (my love)…That is my wife.”
On that fateful night, his wife was pinned to her seat, he told The New Straits Times (NST) in an interview.
Mr Redzuan had tried to break open the windshield and front passenger door, but failed, he said.
His wife then told him to leave first and save himself. That was the last thing he heard her say.
When the fuel tank exploded, he was pulled away from the car by others after parting from his wife for the last time.
Though Mr Redzuan also suffered burns on his face, the pain in his heart from suffering the loss is clearly much greater.
Meanwhile, the cause of the horrific accident was reportedly a lorry changing lane.
Kulai police chief Superintendent Tok Beng Yeow was quoted as saying by NST that a Renault-type lorry, which was driving from Air Hitam to Johor Baru, was occupying the left lane due to congestion.
The Proton Preve ended up crashing into the rear of the lorry.
The Proton Wira, failing to avoid the initial accident, then collided with the Proton Preve — sparking a chain collision involving the Toyota Vios and Isuzu truck and causing all three to burst into flames, he said.
This also happened because the stretch of road wasn’t lighted up, the officer claimed.
To lose a loved one prematurely due to an accident is probably one of the worst feelings in the world.
But to have them taken away from you in front of your eyes while you’re helpless to do anything must be truly heart-wrenching indeed.
MS News expresses our deepest condolences to Mr Redzuan and all the families of the deceased. May they rest in peace.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook.
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