ALOR SETAR: Two men escaped death after a massive tree fell on their vehicles at Jalan Datuk Kumbar here on Thursday (May 16).
Alor Setar fire station chief Ahmad Naufal Abdullah said the victims Ismail Yaacob, 61, and Miswan Shah Dasnir, 38, escaped unharmed after they were rescued by the public in the incidents that occurred at about 3.30pm.
"We received distress calls from the public informing us about the incident at 3.43pm.
"A team of 12 firemen from Alor Setar fire station were deployed to the scene right after the distress call," he said in a statement.
He said the victims were pulled out by passers-by before the rescuers arrived.
He said two fire fighting vehicles and a motorcycle unit were also dispatched to help in the operation.
He said the department has contacted the Alor Setar City Council and Tenaga National Bhd to help in clearing the site.
The operation ended at about 5pm.
The tree falling incident in Alor Setar is not the first to happen lately.
On Sunday (May 12), a huge angsana tree on the left side of Jalan Macalister, Penang was uprooted and fell during a 10am downpour.
The tree toppled across the road and crushed another angsana tree, which then fell into the compound of the parking lot, damaging four cars that were parked there.
There was no one on the scene at the time, so no injuries occurred. Both trees are believed to be about 100 years old.
A woman who was in the MPV with her son also miraculously escaped death after the uprooted tree nearly crushed her vehicle as she drove along the road.
On Tuesday, (May 7), a man died and two others were injured after a giant tree fell onto Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur, impacting 17 vehicles.
