KLUANG: A man who rendered aid to his loved ones after they were involved in a fatal accident which killed six people at Kilometre 71, Jalan Batu Pahat Mersing, yesterday, claimed to have been electrocuted during the rescue process.
Mohd Arifin Syamsuddin, 32, believes a fence in the watery area near the accident location caused his electric shock.
"In my attempt to save them, I received an electric shock but ignored it because the lives of my family were at stake," he said when met at the Hospital Enche' Hajjah Besar Khalsom here last night.
The victims killed at the scene were identified as Muhammad Adil Abdul Kadir, 22; Masrina Kahdar, 20; Muhammad Zharfah Noramin, 16, as well as Muhammad Syakir Noramin and Mohd Ashraf Rafiq Mohd Arifin, both 11.
His sister-in-law, Siti Nurzannah Kahdar, 25, who was seated in the front seat died while being treated at the hospital.
Arifin said that before the incident they were in a convoy in three separate vehicles from Layang-layang to Mersing to visit their uncle and have a picnic at Air Papan Beach.
"Suddenly I heard a loud bang and looked at the side mirror of the car and spotted another vehicle had crossed the middle of the road.
"I didn't see the Perodua Myvi driven by Siti Nurzannah's friend who was about 100 meters behind and I proceeded to make a U-turn.
"I rushed out of the car as soon as I saw the car overturned on the road shoulder," he said.
Arifin said his family members never rode in separate cars all this time, but for some reason, his son insisted on travelling in the Perodua Myvi with his cousin, even though he forbade him.
He said his son's remains will be buried at the Keramat Muslim Cemetery in Keramat, Kuala Lumpur, while his two brothers-in-law will be buried at the Batu 14 Muslim Cemetery in Hulu Langat, Selangor.
Post-mortems on the six victims are expected to be completed this morning.
Yesterday afternoon, a Perodua Myvi carrying eight people was involved in an accident with another vehicle on KM 13 of Jalan Mersing-Kluang, resulting in six deaths, including two children.