BINTULU: A passenger was killed and three others seriously injured when the van they were travelling in rammed one of the logs carried by a timber lorry at Km74 Bintulu-Bakun Road on Wednesday night.
The front of the van was mangled in the crash.
Prior to the accident, the van was travelling behind the lorry on its way from Bakun.
It is believed that the van driver had wanted to overtake the lorry but when he saw a car coming from the opposite direction, returned to his lane behind the lorry, but the van rammed one of the logs.
The impact caused the van driver to be trapped inside the vehicle while one of the front passengers sitting beside him was fatally injured, and died on the way to Bintulu Hospital.
Rescuers took 15 minutes to extricate the driver trapped in the van while passers-by managed to pull three other passengers to safety.
Bintulu Fire and Rescue Station chief Dihata Gobel said the accident occurred around 7.50pm and the passenger who was killed was identified as Muhamad Hafiz Abu, 30.
The three who sustained serious injuries were the driver Amir Ashraf Ishak, 26, and passengers Durendel Metea, 34, and Uoon Phian Loi, 40.