BALIK PULAU: A Singaporean tourist was killed while nine others were injured when the van they were travelling in skidded and fell into a 6m-deep ravine while descending a slope in Jalan Teluk Kumbar-Bukit Genting here tonight.
Also injured was the van driver, a local man.
There were 11 people altogether in the 12-seater van.
Operations officer N. Prenavaran, from the Air Putih fire and rescue station, said they received an emergency call about an accident on the hill at 8.20pm and arrived 10 minutes later.
He said, upon arrival, they had difficulty reaching the hill with the fire engines and had to hike up the hill with stretchers and rescue equipments, which took them 15 minutes.
"When we arrived, we found the van with 11 people had fell off the ravine.
"We layout out our rescuers and hiked downhill to rescue the trapped victims one by one. Safety was of paramount importance due to the steep and slippery slope and it was very dark then.
"When we arrived, three of the victims had been taken uphill with the help of the public," he told newsmen at the scene.
Prenavaran said there were seven women and three men altogether.
"One, a woman, had died when we reached her.
"Seven of them were taken to the Balik Pulau Hospital while another three the Penang Hospital.
"The last to be rescued was a woman, who was trapped. We had to cut the dashboard and steering wheel to reach her. She was alive," he added.
Prenavaran said the remains of the woman would be handed to the police for the next course of action.