KEDAH was rocked by two fatal incidents within hours early Monday, leaving five people dead after a car fire at the Jitra Toll Plaza and a separate road crash in Kulim involving a father and his two young children.
In the first incident, two individuals were found burnt to death after a car was engulfed in flames at the Jitra Toll Plaza on the northbound stretch of the North–South Expressway in the early hours of Monday.
Jitra Fire and Rescue Station chief Assistant Superintendent Noor Azhar Tajudin said his department received an emergency call about the incident at 1.05am.
“The Kedah Fire and Rescue Department’s Operations Control Centre received a report of a car on fire at the location and immediately dispatched the Jitra Fire and Rescue Station to the scene,” he said.
He led an operation involving seven firefighters from the Jitra station, assisted by five members of the Seberang Nyonya Volunteer Fire Brigade, who arrived shortly afterwards.
“The operations commander reported that upon arrival, the fire involved a Honda Civic FD and the flames were already raging,” he said.
“The estimated damage was about 85 per cent, and inspection found that there were two victims who had been burnt to death inside the vehicle.
“However, at this stage, the identities of the two victims have yet to be established,” he said when contacted today.
Noor Azhar said the fire was brought under control at about 1.23am, after which firefighters carried out cutting operations on the vehicle to remove the victims. He added that the operation involved the Royal Malaysia Police and the Ministry of Health.
“The victims were subsequently handed over to the police for further action,” he said.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, three members of a family were killed in a separate accident in Kulim involving two vehicles on Jalan Kulim–Mahang.
Kulim district police chief Superintendent Zulkifli Azizan said the victims were factory worker Muhammad Syazwan Mohd Surodjidin, 25, and his two sons, Muhammad Aqeel Afnan, four, and Muhammad Affan Mikhael, two. All three were pronounced dead at the scene.
“One other victim, the 27-year-old driver of a Proton S70, sustained minor injuries and is undergoing further examination,” he said in a statement.
Preliminary investigations found that the Proton S70 is believed to have lost control before entering the opposite lane and colliding with a Perodua Viva carrying the father and his two children, Zulkifli said.
He added that the case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. Both vehicles have been taken to the Kulim Traffic Police Station for further action, including inspections by the Computerised Vehicle Inspection Centre, or Puspakom.
The bodies of the three victims were sent to the Forensic Unit of Kulim Hospital for post-mortem examinations.
Earlier reports said the collision occurred on Jalan Sungai Kob, where the two cars collided head-on before skidding onto the road shoulder. - January 19, 2026
