Six family members were killed when their car skidded and collided with a trailer parked on the emergency lane at KM 258.8 of the East Coast Expressway 2 (LPT2) near the Perasing rest and recreation area, here this afternoon.

Kemaman District Police chief, Supt Mohd Said Ibrahim, said when the accident occurred at 12.30 pm, it was raining heavily and all the victims who were trapped inside the car which had gone under the trailer died at the scene due to severe head and body injuries.

The dead were the driver Azaman Ramli, 49, his wife Noor Akmal Mohd Zain, 48, Noor Amira Syahirah Alias, 22, Aliff Hateem Azaman, 16, Aliff Hakim Azaman, 12 and Aqeel Muslim Abdullah, three.

Mohd Said said the victims were travelling from Kuala Terengganu to Kuantan before their Toyota Camry skidded and crashed into the lorry laden with rice.

"Initial investigations found the road condition slippery due to rain and on passing the accident spot, the car was believed to have tried to avoid the trailer parked on the emergency lane but instead it skidded, spun and the rear of the car went under the trailer," he told reporters at the scene.

It is understood that when the incident occurred, the 35-year-old trailer driver who hails from Kelantan was asleep in the vehicle and was not even aware of the accident until notified by other road users. He escaped any injury.

All the bodies have been taken to the Kemaman Hospital Forensics Unit.

Mohd Said urged anyone who witnessed the crash or with any information regarding it to contact Kemaman police station.

Meanwhile, Terengganu Zone II Fire and Rescue Department head Senior Superintendent II Azmi Abdul Rahim Ibrahim, said firefighters took more than an hour to remove all the bodies trapped in the car.

He said two fire engines with 25 firemen from the Cheneh and Gambang Fire and Rescue Stations rushed to the scene after receiving a report at 12.36 pm.