Fire and Rescue personnel at the scene of the accident.
SANDAKAN: A woman was burnt to death while a man survived after the Mazda car that they were in caught fire during an accident at Jalan Labuk Lama mile 9 here at around 4.20am today.
According to Sandakan Zone Fire and Rescue Department head Andrre Andrew, the accident happened when the vehicle ran over an empty house near Wisma Yun Cheong Loong here and caught on fire.
The male victim Karthigayan Rajalingam managed to escape but the other victim was found burnt to death in the car. Both were 30 years old.
The fire station received a call on the incident at around 4.20am. Fireman PBK II Arshad Kadir then led six other firemen and rushed to the scene with a fire engine and EMRS.
“The 20 x 20 square feet empty house also caught on fire and resulted in 90 per cent of the structure burnt. The fire was completely put out at around 5.04am,” Andrre said.
The identity of the female victim has yet to be identified.
However, according to a source, the victim was a dental nurse who worked at Beluran Hospital, married and with one child.
A witness who wished to be known as Yuri said that she and her sibling were the first to get to the scene after she heard a loud noise near her home. Her neighbour then followed to the scene.
“We saw that a car was on fire and called the fire station. When we approached the car, we saw a man behind the wheel and quickly helped the man out of the car. It took some time because he was big-sized and very heavy. He was half-conscious at the time.
“After getting the driver out, a woman sitting at the back seat of the car desperately cried for help, but the fire was too fierce as that part was right next to a burning banana tree. We were unable to save her. It breaks my heart and I do not know how long this is going to haunt me that I did not get to save that woman.
“The firemen only reached after the fire was almost out. The woman was already gone (died),” Yuri sobbed.