FIVE soldiers were killed and five others were injured in two accidents in Sandakan and Kuantan yesterday.
In Sandakan, two soldiers were killed and four others suffered minor injuries after their Adnan armoured personnel carrier (APC) overturned at Batu 19, Jalan Sungai Tiram near here.
Sandakan deputy police chief Superintendant Fadzil Mohd Ali said team leader Sergeant Mohd Hanif Patahur, 31, and Private Ahmad Feleni Mansor, 23, were killed on the spot.
The driver, Mohd Faizal Ahmad, 29, Mohd Amaruddin Che Soh, 29, Mohamad Haffez Khairudin, 24, and Ifaiznor Ismail, 29, sustained minor injuries, said Fadzil.
He said the injured soldiers were sent to Duchess of Kent Hospital here for treatment.
He said two APCs were making their way back to Sri Kinabatangan Camp from Kampung Sungai Tiram when the APC driven by Faizal went out of control and overturned.
The two APCs were on security patrol in Teluk Labuk earlier, he said.
The soldiers had been on duty at the Sri Kinabatangan Camp since July 15 after being posted there from Kuantan, he said.
Fadzil said the bodies of the two soldiers would be sent back to their hometowns today.
Hanif was from Johor, while Ahmad Feleni from Kelantan.
In Kuantan, T.N. Alagesh and Fazrol Nasir report that three soldiers were killed while another was seriously injured when their car skidded and crashed into several trees before landing in a monsoon drain.
The accident took place at Km5 of Jalan Kuantan-Gambang around midnight on Monday.
The three soldiers killed were identified as Mohd Fahmi Jap and Mohd Ilias Abu Seman, both 23, and Mohd Faizal Zainol, 26.
Fahmi and Ilias were from Baling and Pendang, respectively, while Faizal was from Trong.
Shamzuri Awang, 23, from Kota Baru, who drove the car, suffered serious injuries and has been warded at Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital.
All four were from the Royal Armoured Corps’ 1st Regiment, based out of the 10th Mile Camp, here.
Pahang police acting public order and traffic chief Deputy Superintendent Mohd Noor Yusof Ali said Shamzuri was pinned to the driver’s seat of the badly-mangled vehicle, while his three friends were flung out of the vehicle due to the impact.
Noor said the incident happened when the victims were on their way back to the camp after having dinner in town, adding that all of them were single and had been serving with the Armed Forces for the past two years.
Eyewitness Ridzuan Udin, 33, said he was shocked when he saw the car in front of him skid towards the trees lining the roadside.
“The incident happened so fast. The car finally ended up in the drain and several bodies could be seen lying in the middle of the road and in the drain.
“I and other motorists, who had stopped their vehicles at the scene, rushed to help the victims,” said the self-employed man, who was riding his motorcycle to his home in Gambang at the time of the incident.
Ridzuan said he noticed that Shamzuri was still breathing when he tried to help him before the ambulance and firemen came a few minutes later.