Four killed, 12 injured in four-vehicle pile-up on LPT1

KUANTAN: Four people were killed and 12 injured in an accident involving four vehicles at KM135.7 of the East Coast Highway 1 (LPT1) on the Kuantan-bound side early this morning.

Pahang Fire and Rescue Department public relations officer Zulfadli Zakaria said the vehicles involved in the pile-up were a container lorry, Proton Exora, Proton Waja and tow truck.

He said the dead were an elderly couple and a youth travelling in the Proton Exora and the tow truck driver but their identities are not known yet.

"The Fire and Rescue Department received an emergency call at 3.26 am regarding the accident. The container lorry is believed to have skidded and crashed into the truck which was in the process of towing the Proton Exora, which broke down on the highway.

"The Proton Waja is said to be on the roadside at the time. The impact of the crash sent the Proton Exora plunging into a 40-foot-deep ravine," he said in a statement here.

In TEMERLOH, police identified the four killed as Proton Exora passenger Mohmed @ Mohamed Shamsuddin, 75; his wife Kamariah Hamzah, 72; 12-year-old boy Danis and tow truck driver Mohd Azuan Zainal Abidin, 53.

Temerloh district police chief ACP Mohd Azhar Mohd Yusoff said the injured included eight passengers of the Proton Exora, aged between two and 30 years.

The Proton Waja driver, aged 36, fell into a coma, his two daughters, aged five and 11, were slightly injured while his 36-year-old wife escaped unhurt.

"The 56-year-old lorry driver from Kedah suffered light injuries in the 3.10 am accident and has been arrested to help in investigations," he said in a statement.

Mohd Azhar said the container lorry hit the three vehicles when they were on the emergency lane.

The dead and injured were taken to Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah in Temerloh.

-- BERNAMA