NST
JASIN: Three people were killed while nine others were injured, including one seriously, in an accident at KM176.4 of the North South Highway today.
The incident happened at about 4.50pm when a trailer heading from Johor to Kuala Lumpur lost control and crashed through the highway divider before hitting three oncoming vehicles headed in the opposite direction.
A police spokesperson said the three vehicles that were southbound were a container lorry, a Toyota Camry and a Perodua Myvi.
"The trailer driver, identified as Muhammad Saiful Om, 31 and two passengers in the Toyota Camry; Mohd Nizam Abdul Rahim, 48 and Halid Haron, 48 died at the scene.
"Four occupants in the Perodua Myvi and three occupants in the container lorry sustained minor injuries and were rushed to Tangkak Hospital.
"The driver of the Toyota Camry sustained light injuries while the passenger behind him sustained serious injuries," said the police spokesperson.
It was raining when the incident occurred. The accident caused a traffic jam on both sides of the highway.
Fire and Rescue Senior Operations Officer II Nazaruddin Ab Malek said the department received a distress call at 4.52pm.
"Four firemen from Jasin Bestari firestation and eight firemen from Ayer Keroh fire station together with two fire rescue vehicles and an ambulance arrived at the scene at 5.14pm.
"Several victims were trapped in the wreckage with firefighters taking five minutes to free them and spending 10 minutes to free the bodies.
Bodies of the deceased were sent to the Jasin Hospital for post mortem while those injured were sent to Tangkak Hospital.
