Danger zone: Firemen putting out the blaze in Kota Kinabalu.
KOTA KINABALU: A couple and their two young children had a close shave with death when the van they were travelling in caught fire in an early morning accident.
The husband, 33, who was driving the van, his 31-year-old wife, six-year-old daughter and a son whose age was not revealed suffered minor injuries after their vehicle was rammed head-on by a car before catching fire along Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, here, at 12.45am yesterday.
It is learnt that the car was doing a U-turn at the road divider near the Urban Transformation Centre office before ramming into the van.
Police do not suspect the 26-year-old car driver, who also escaped with minor injuries, to be drunk, but took a blood sample for analysis.
The Fire and Rescue Department operations centre said the fire left the van 60% burnt, including the engine.
Firemen used water and foam to completely put out the fire by 1.25am.
“The four victims were rescued by the public before our arrival,” the department said in a statement yesterday.
Six firemen were despatched from the Kota Kinabalu fire station, led by the department’s senior officer, Evan Bobby.
The victims were sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital for treatment.
