Bomba personnel extricating the victim’s body from the wrecked vehicle.
BINTULU (July 12): A man was killed after his sports utility vehicle (SUV) plunged into a ravine along Bintulu-Miri coastal road this morning.
The victim was identified as 50-year-old S Ganapathy Sundaraj.
Bintulu police chief Supt Zulkipli Suhaili said the accident happened not far from the Petronas Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline (SSPG) station.
He said the police were alerted about the accident at 8.20am.
“Initial investigation at the scene found that the victim was on his way from Samalaju towards Bintulu town centre.
“It was believed that the victim had lost control of his vehicle which entered the opposite lane and turned several times before landing on the right side of the road,” he said.
Zulkipli said the victim was pinned to his seat but was later extricated from the wreckage by rescue personnel from Bintulu fire station.
“The victim sustained head and body injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bintulu Bomba chief Wan Kamaruddin Wan Ahmad said they received a distress call about the accident at 7.01am.
He said the rescue team was deployed to the scene which is located about 39 kilometres from here.
“Using a saver concept with anchor system and rescue tool cutter, the victim was extricated from the wreckage,” he said.
The victim’s body was sent to Bintulu hospital mortuary for a postmortem.
The case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.