A loud explosion startled members of the public before a Proton Saga was engulfed in flames following a five-vehicle collision in front of Bazar Mara, along the Jalan Bertam Malim–Cheng stretch, on Tuesday.
In the 9.30am incident, two men aged in their 50s and 60s were injured and rescued by members of the public.
Witness Shahrizal Ahmad, 48, said he saw the incident from his workplace about 40 metres away, where he first heard a loud bang before noticing multiple vehicles involved in the crash, with one of them catching fire.
He added that several other individuals from the vehicles involved were also injured but managed to escape with assistance from bystanders.
Melaka Fire and Rescue Department operations commander Sihan Tahir said firefighters from the Cheng station were dispatched immediately after receiving an emergency call.
He confirmed that the fire was believed to have started following a collision involving a Toyota Vios, Mercedes, Tadano crane, Perodua Bezza and a Proton Saga FLX.
Upon arrival, firefighters found the Proton Saga FLX already 90 per cent destroyed by the blaze.
Fire crews managed to carry out extinguishing operations and successfully brought the fire under control.
