A fatal accident involving a minivan along the East Coast Expressway, near the Chukai toll exit, killed six people, including three children. All the passengers in the vehicle belonged to the same family and were travelling to Kuala Terengganu to meet a relative. The family of 10 hailed from the northwest Malaysian state called Kedah.
It was reported that a punctured tyre made the MPV lose control and it hit the divider before ramming into the pillar of an overhead bridge. The mishap happened at around 6.10pm on 12 December.
Ahmad Nasal Abd Rahman (52) was driving the MPV while his family members were sitting behind. Among the dead, there was his wife Pauziyah Awang (56), his daughter Quratulnisa (11), his son Ahmad Nijat (9), his elder brother Ahmad Razi (63), his sister-in-law Mahani Ngah (42) and Ahmad Razi's granddaughter Sofea Adriana Shahruddin, (7), reported the Star.
Ahmad Nasal, along with his three other children were rushed to the Ke¬¬maman Hospital. Though, he himself suffered minor injuries his kids, Quratul Ain (14), Ahmad Shakir (12), and Ahmad Mukriz (3), are critically injured.
According to the news website, the family was on their way to meet Ahmad Nasal's son who is studying at Universiti Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin in Gong Badak near Kuala Terengganu, after attending a wedding in Felda Jengka in Pahang.
An eyewitness, who was driving close to the MPV, said that she heard an explosion and saw the vehicle swing before hitting the divider. "It spun at least three times before ramming into the pillar of the overhead bridge and catching fire. I also saw some of the victims being thrown out," she said, according to The Star.
