A 30-year-old lorry attendant was killed while two others were injured in a collision involving two heavy vehicles at Jalan Batu 12 here shortly after midnight.
The incident, which occurred at about 12am, involved a fertiliser-laden lorry crashing into the rear of a tanker lorry. The impact left three adult men caught up in the accident.
A spokesperson for the Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia (JBPM) Sarawak operations centre said an emergency call was received at 12.04am. Firefighters from the Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat Bintangor were dispatched to the scene, located about 32 kilometres from the station.
A team from the Balai Bomba dan Penyelamat Sarikei was later mobilised to assist, bringing the total number of personnel involved in the rescue operation to 13.
Upon arrival, rescuers found that the fertiliser lorry had rammed into the back of the tanker. Two of the victims, both attendants of the fertiliser lorry, were trapped inside the severely damaged cabin, while the driver managed to extricate himself despite sustaining injuries.
Rescue efforts were hampered by the confined space and the extensively crushed cabin, forcing the team to wait for a lorry from Sarikei to help pull apart the wreckage.
The first trapped victim, who was conscious at the time, was successfully extricated and handed over to the Ministry of Health for further treatment. However, the second attendant, who was pinned inside the cabin, was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.
Firefighters deployed specialised equipment, including a telescopic ram and cutting tools, to pry open and cut through the mangled metal before removing the deceased.
The injured victims were identified as Schwarznegger Samuel Numpang, 30, and Maxwell Bernard Empam, 22. The deceased was named as Stanley Ali, 30.
