GUA MUSANG: A group of students from Sultan Mizan Teacher's Education Institute (IPG) returning from a trip to Indonesia was struck by tragedy when one of them was killed and three others injured after being hit by a trailer on Km16, Jalan Gua Musang-Kuala Lipis, near Merapoh.
The incident, involving five vehicles, occurred at 6.45am today.
The group of 12 students were travelling in four vehicles — a pair of Perodua Axia cars, a Proton X50, and a Proton Saga — on their way back to the IPG Sultan Mizan campus in Besut, Terengganu.
The deceased, 22-year-old Nurul Alya Fatnin Mohd Mawardzi, was in the Proton X50.
It is believed the vehicles were struck by the trailer while parked by the roadside due to a flat tire in one of the cars.
The victim's mother, Azizah Harun, 63, said her daughter, the youngest of five siblings, had just returned from the trip to Indonesia with lecturers and friends.
She said Nurul Alya had sent a WhatsApp message to her father, Mohd Mawardzi Akhir, 65, at 6.29am, updating him on their location.
"She said they had just entered Gua Musang, and that was the last message we received from her.
"However, at 7.58am, we got a call from one of her friends about the accident, and we rushed to Gua Musang Hospital," said Azizah.
She said that her daughter was scheduled to sit for her final exams tomorrow and had planned to spend the holidays at their family home in Bukit Panau, Tanah Merah.
"She was a very good child and a hafizah who had memorised 30 chapters of the Quran," she said.
Gua Musang Fire and Rescue Station Chief, Senior Fire Superintendent Nor Azizi Che Noh, confirmed that they received an emergency call at 7.13am.
Eight personnel and two fire engines were dispatched, arriving at the scene at 7.37am.
"We found an accident involving a trailer and four vehicles — a pair of Perodua Axia cars, a Proton X50, and a Proton Saga.
The collision involved three victims in the Proton X50, one of whom was found dead and trapped inside the vehicle.
Another victim from one of the Perodua Axia cars sustained serious injuries," Nor Azizi said.