A 30-year-old lorry driver died after being trapped under his vehicle for close to 19 hours in a crash at Kampung Nabutan on Wednesday.
The lorry, carrying concrete electric poles, veered off the road and fell 50 meters into a ravine, pinning Mohd Raziman Sahrin under the wreckage. Despite an extensive rescue effort, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Ranau Fire and Rescue Station was alerted at 8.41am, and emergency crews rushed to the remote crash site.
“When we arrived, the lorry was deep in the ravine, and the driver was completely trapped under the wreckage,” said Ranau fire chief Ridwan Mohd Taib.
Rescuers initially tried to free him using specialized equipment but were unable to lift the lorry, prompting the deployment of a crane from Kota Kinabalu. The crane arrived by 6pm, but three attempts to hoist the vehicle failed.
As night fell, the team manually removed 60 to 70 electric poles to access the driver’s body. After hours of laborious effort, Mohd Raziman was finally recovered at 2.50am on Thursday.
“He was confirmed dead at the scene,” Ridwan said, adding that the operation involved 13 rescue personnel, police, crane operators, and family members.
The rescue operation ended at 3.12am after the site was deemed safe. – January 24, 2025.
