Four injured in 16-vehicle accident near Tapah

Four people were injured today in an accident involving 16 vehicles on the south-bound stretch of the North-South Expressway just before the exit to the Tapah toll plaza.

Tapah Police chief Supt Som Sak Din Keliaw said the accident happened at 10.20am at Km321 of the highway and involved 10 cars, two small lorries, a tanker lorry, an express bus, a pickup and a van.

Two of the injured were Abdul Aziz Youp Mat, 68, and his wife Rosiah Zainal, 61, who were in a Proton Waja car. The others were Phoo Chee Leong, 52, who was driving a Proton Iswara car, and the yet-to-be-identified driver of the tanker lorry.

Som Sak said the south-bound vehicles had to slow down at the stretch because of road works at Km321.8, and the tanker lorry shifted from the left to the right lane and knocked into the rear of the express bus.

The lorry also knocked into several other vehicles on the right lane, causing the vehicles in both lanes to knock into one another, he said.

Som Sak said the injured people were sent to the Tapah Hospital and Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital in Ipoh. -- Bernama