KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 — A trailer carrying oil burst into flames at a traffic lights outside the Bintulu Medical Centre in Sarawak earlier this morning, claiming the life of one person.
The incident happened at about 11am on Jalan Kidurong when the oil tanker collided with a pick-up truck at the traffic lights, according to online reports from The Borneo Post and The Star.
Kidurong assemblyman Chiew Ching Sing confirmed the death of one person.
“I saw one body taken away from the site in an ambulance,” he told The Star Online, adding that the authorities have yet to identify the deceased.
Chiew said he was informed that the oil tanker overturned after an accident and exploded.
A distress call was reportedly received at 11.53am and 10 firefighters rushed to the scene just afternoon and took over an hour to bring the flames under control.
The Borneo Post reported that three other vehicles burst into flames and The Star Online said some of the other occupants managed to escape.
This is the second fatal accident involving an oil tanker taking place in Borneo today.
In a separate report, The Star Online said an oil tanker collided with a van in a pre-dawn accident along the Lahad Datu-Tungku road in Sabah’s east coast.
Four people in the van — two men and two women — were crushed to death on the spot in the 5.45am incident, Lahad Datu police chief Assistant Commissioner Hamzah Ahmad confirmed.
He was quoted saying the police are still investigating the identities of the four fatalities.
The Star Online reported a distress call was made to the Lahad Datu Fire and Rescue Services at 5.59am.
The district station head Mohd Apandi Mahmood said firefighters despatched to the scene found the crushed van in a ditch with the oil tanker on top of it.
Three cranes were needed to lift the tanker off the van to extricate the bodies, he added.
