TAWAU: A trailer truck driver was killed after his timber-laden vehicle skidded and overturned off the road near Maliau Basin on Wednesday.
The accident occurred 133 KM from Tawau. The victim, a man in his 40s, was trapped in the cabin following the crash.
The Tawau Fire and Rescue Station received a distress call at 10.03 am and despatched a rescue team. Firefighters arrived at the scene at 12.02 pm and used specialised hydraulic tools to extricate the driver. Medical personnel later pronounced him dead, and his remains were handed over to the police.
The operation was led by Operations Commander PBK I Suheizan Sahak and involved seven personnel from the Tawau Fire and Rescue Station, supported by four members of the Kalabakan Volunteer Fire Team. Personnel from the Ministry of Health, police, and Civil Defence Force also assisted at the scene.
Separately, in Lahad Datu, a fire completely destroyed a workers’ housing block at Kompleks Kembara Sakti Wednesday morning. No casualties were reported.
The Lahad Datu Fire and Rescue Station was alerted at 11.13 am. The first responders from the Anjung Teduh Volunteer Fire Unit arrived to find the three-unit building fully engulfed in flames. Reinforcements from the main Lahad Datu station later joined the effort.
A team of 13 firefighters brought the blaze under control by 1.49 pm and fully extinguished it soon after, using water sourced from a nearby ditch. The cause of the fire is under investigation. – James Leong
The fatal accident near Maliau Basin, 133 KM from Tawau on Wednesday.
