SIX BURNT TO DEATH IN FIERY ACCIDENT

SEREMBAN (Malaysia), Feb 8 (Bernama) -- Six people trapped in a burning car
were burnt to death after the car they were travelling in was involved in an
accident at KM252 of the North South Expressway, near the Senawang Toll Plaza,
south of Kuala Lumpur, at about 1.30am this morning.

Police could not immediately determine the identify of the six charred
remains of the victims as their bodies and the car were completely burnt beyond
recognition.

The remains were later sent to the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital in Seremban for a
post-mortem.

According to a police spokesman, the six were trapped inside the ill-fated
car that was believed to have lost control and crashed into a lorry that was
parked on the shoulder of the expressway.

The impact of the accident and the explosion had resulted in the engine of
the car being blown about 50m away from the scene of the accident and was found
in a drain.

"The car may have been driven fast and lost control before hitting the
parked lorry, a trailer, that was laden with goods believed to be granite
powder. The lorry had broken down since yesterday afternoon," he told reporters
at the scene.

A witness, Rashid Razali, 38, who lives in Taman Seremban Selatan about 150m
from the expressway, said he was washing his car when he heard a loud explosion.

"After the explosion, I saw fire. I and a few neighbours rushed to the
expressway to investigate and saw a smoking engine," he said.

We tried to get closer to the burning car but retracted when there was a
second explosion from the wrecked car. The fire was very intense and the car was
a total wreck due to the impact, he said.

Firemen from the Seremban 2 and Senawang Fire and Rescue Department who
arrived in three fire engines, took about three hours to extricate the bodies,
after using a crane to lift the trailer.
-- BERNAMA