The accident, involving a four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicle and a lorry laden with rubber scrap, occurred at about 1am, Bentong district police chief Yusuf Unis said.

He said those killed – Yawiyah, 53, her cousin Maskah, 49, and their friend Jantana, 43 – were from Narathiwat in southern Thailand.

Yawiyah’s husband, identified as Mama, 55, who was at the wheel of the 4WD, was seriously injured.

Yusuf said the lorry is believed to have skidded at a bend on a hilly slope before crashing into a wall and landing on the 4WD.

He said the victims were pinned to their seats and Fire and Rescue personnel took almost an hour to extricate them.

The 31-year-old lorry driver and his attendant, aged 52, both from Kelantan, also sustained serious injuries, he said.