5 dead, 3 seriously injured after head-on collision in Batu Gajah

Five people were killed while three others seriously injured in a road accident involving two cars at kilometer 17 Jalan Ipoh-Lumut near Siputeh, here, this afternoon.

In the incident at about 2.30pm, four victims were confirmed dead at the scene after they were trapped in their vehicles following the head-on collision.

Another victim succumbed to his injury at the Batu Gajah Hospital.

Batu Gajah Fire and Rescue Operations chief Zainal Mohamad Isa said the victims were two Chinese men and two women in a Toyota Vios, while another victim was a Malay woman in a Mercedes car.

"Upon receiving the call at 2:31 pm, we rushed to the scene and took about an hour to remove the victims from the wreckage.

"Meanwhile, two other victims with severe injuries were pulled out of the wreckage by passers-by," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI.

He added that they had to use a hydraulic cutter to remove the victims and the whole operation took about two hours which ended at about 4.20 pm.

He said the bodies were handed over to the police to be brought to the Batu Gajah Hospital for post-mortem, while the injured were sent to the same hospital for treatment.