Three burning cars keep firemen busy on Penang roads

All ablaze: The car that caught fire on the Penang bridge.

GEORGE TOWN: It was a busy day for the Penang Fire and Rescue Department after three cars caught fire in separate incidents that took place in a span of less than eight hours.

The first case occurred in Jalan Lama Bukit Tengah, Bukit Mertajam, where a 42-year-old businesswoman died in a car crash, with her vehicle then catching fire.

Fire department spokesman Mohd Azman Hussin said the incident took place about 2am yesterday.

Six firemen rushed to the scene where they found the car overturned and ablaze.

“We had to put out the fire before we could retrieve the victim who was trapped inside the car.

“She was pronounced dead by a medical officer from the Bukit Mertajam Hospital,” he said in a statement.

Central Seberang Prai OCPD Asst Comm Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid said the car driven by Tan Meng Ai (pic) from Tanjung Piandang in Perak crashed into a concrete divider.

The car was flipped over to the other side of the road and caught fire.

“We believe she died in the crash and not from the fire.

“Tan’s body has been sent to the Seberang Jaya Hopital for a post-mortem to determine the cause of death,” he said.

In the second case, a car was destroyed after it caught fire in Jalan Scotland near the Penang Turf Club.

Mohd Azman said firemen arrived at the scene at 7.05am and put out the fire in less than an hour, adding that no one was injured in the incident.

Meanwhile, a burning car caused hundreds of vehicles heading to the mainland to be caught in a jam at KM0.5 of the Penang Bridge near the toll plaza.

Twelve firemen rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 9.40am.

The car was destroyed but its driver escaped unhurt.

In Balik Pulau, the Fire and Rescue team also responded to a fire which razed a house in Air Putih.

It took 11 firemen 12 minutes to put out the fire which started at about 2pm yesterday.