KOTA KINABALU: A child was killed in a five-car pile-up involving a bus, a car and three lorries on the Sandakan–Lahad Datu road in Kinabatangan district.
The accident on Saturday morning was said to have occurred after one of the lorry drivers tried to avoid potholes and uneven roads near Kampung Paris Satu.
Kinabatangan OCPD Supt Dzulbaharin Ismail said initial investigations showed that two lorries had first collided with each other.
He said the drivers of two other vehicles – a sedan and a three-tonne lorry – came to a halt but an express bus tailing behind them had failed to stop.
“The bus rammed into the car in front of it, and the impact caused the vehicle to slide forward and crash into the three-tonne lorry,” he said.
Mangled mess: One of the vehicles involved in the mishap.
He said all 29 bus passengers escaped unhurt.
Supt Dzulbaharin said the bus driver had been arrested to facilitate investigations under reckless driving.
Sabah Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Hamsa Isnurdini said a team was sent to help upon receiving a distress call around 11.19am.
He said the rescuers were informed that two women, aged 36 and 38, as well as four children, aged between five and 10, were injured.
They were sent to the hospital, he said in a statement on Saturday.
Kinabatangan Fire Station Chief Nurul Azlan Shah Jamalludin said they were later told that the youngest victim had died at the Lahad Datu Hospital.
