Founder of Fadhilat Herbs, his family killed in fiery crash (Update 4)
SEREMBAN: Police have identified the six victims who were burnt to death when their car caught fire after an accident at KM252 of the North-South Expressway near the Senawang Toll Plaza Monday morning.
There were identified as Fadhilat Herbs Sdn Bhd managing director Suhaimi Ghazali, 41, his wife Nor Fadilah Senin, 32 and their four children Nurul Natashahuda, 11, Mohd Daniel Iskandar, 10, Mohd Hanif Iman, six and Adi Putra, two.
Negri Sembilan Traffic Chief ASP Abdul Halil Hamzah said the remains of the victims were claimed by their family members from Kampung Bukit Pegoh, Pernu, Malacca and expected to be buried later Monday.
During the 1.30am accident, in which the car that they were travelling in lost control and crashed into the rear of a lorry parked on the shoulder of the road, the six were trapped inside their car and were burnt to death when the car caught fire.
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, a police spokesman said.
“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 Sunday afternoon,” he told reporters at the scene.
The tragic scene of the accident, where the founder of Fadhilat Herbs Sdn Bhd and his entire family were burnt to death. 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, according to Bernama.
“We tried to get closer to the burning car but moved back 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.
Suhaimi’s relative, Nowawi Johari, 60, when met at the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital where the post-mortem was conducted, said he was informed of their death by a staff member of Fadhilat Herbs, at about 11.30am.
“They had spent their holiday at the Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort, Perak last Saturday and were returning home to Malacca.
“The accident was tragic because a whole family perished. The last time I met Suhaimi was last Friday,” he said.
He added that Suhaimi was the founder and managing director of Fadhilat Herbs Sdn Bhd while his wife was the financial director of the company.
The company -- situated in Teluk Mas, Malacca with 35 staff -- has been operating for two years.
Its marketing executive Zulhasri Nawawi, 22, said Suhaimi was always loving and caring towards the staff.
“He always came to the factory and treated the employees well. I received the news at 11.45am and was shocked,” he said.
The company’s administration manager Siti Aishah Senin, 25, said Suhaimi and his wife were close and caring towards the staff. -- Bernama