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Guan Ping
Guest
Monday November 8, 2010
Four in family killed in crash
By SIMON KHOO
[email protected]
ROMPIN: A trip to an engagement ceremony of a relative in Marang, Terengganu, ended in tragedy for four family members. They were killed when their car burst into flames after colliding with a coconut-laden trailer near Keratong here on Saturday night. The four – driver Rosli Mat Isa, 28, his uncle Mohd Sharif Nani, 61, and his wife Marinah Kembas, 60, and Mohd Sharif’s sister-in-law Patimah Ramli – died at the scene of the accident at KM119 of the Kuantan-Segamat road.
A tragic end: The car driven by Rosli burst into flames after hitting the coconut-laden trailer on the Kuantan-Segamat road on Saturday night.
Rosli and Mohd Sharif were burnt beyond recognition while Marinah and Patimah, a former reporter with Berita Harian, suffered burns on their bodies. Rompin police chief Deputy Supt Johari Jahaya said the accident occurred on a downhill bend during a downpour. Police believe the car skidded before colliding with the trailer which was travelling in the opposite direction.
DSP Johari said initial investigations showed that Rosli was trying to overtake another vehicle when he lost control of the car. “Due to the slippery road, the car skidded and swerved into the opposite lane and rammed into the trailer. The car was dragged for about 40m downhill before exploding into flames.
The victims: (Clockwise from top left) Rosli, Mohd Sharif, Marinah and Patimah.
“The stretch is a double line and the driver should not have tried to overtake,” he said, adding that firemen had to be called to extricate the bodies. Lorry driver Rozlan Rosli, 18, and his father Rosli Che Hassan, 50, escaped in the nick of time before the fire engulfed their trailer.
They suffered minor injuries and received outpatient treatment at the Muadzam Shah Hospital. The victims from Air Keroh, Malacca, were in a convoy of four cars but somehow the car driven by Rosli was delayed while the rest had already reached Segamat. The remains of the four were buried in their hometown.
Rosli Che Hassan said he and his son were on their way to Rantau Panjang in Kelantan from Batu Pahat when the incident happened. “After the collision there was a very loud explosion. My son grabbed my hand and we escaped into some bushes by the side of the road. We could not help the victims because the car was already engulfed in flames,” he said when met at the hospital.
