Lester Bingkasan and his wife, along with others waiting to cross the bridge to get home to Kampung Kionsom could only watch helplessly as the Myvi was pushed by the strong current before it tipped over into the river.

Heavy rain since earlier this morning had caused the river to overflow onto the bridge, which was the only access to Kampung Kionsom.

According to claims on social media, the driver and the passenger managed to save themselves. However, there has been no official confirmation by the authorities.

Lester and his wife were heading home but had to stop before the bridge along with other cars, including the Myvi, due to the strong current.

They couldn’t tell for sure but believed there were two people inside the car.

“After waiting for three hours to cross, the rain eased at 6pm but the river water was still overflowing onto the bridge,” he told FMT.

“Three four-wheel-drive vehicles managed to cross the concrete bridge,” said Lester, adding that this could have encouraged the Myvi driver to try his luck as well.

“The driver probably had enough of waiting and attempted to drive through, but the car was swept away instead … It was the first time I’ve ever witnessed anything like that.

“Some of us who were waiting rushed out to help but what could we do? We couldn’t even reach the riverside,” he said, adding that his wife then alerted the fire and rescue department.

A video of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed the car slowly trying to cross the bridge, but being pushed by the strong current into the raging river and being washed away.

Meanwhile, the incessant downpour also wreaked havoc in other parts of the state capital, with flash floods reported near the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here, in Telipok, Likas, Sepanggar and Kolombong, among others.

According to a statement by the Malaysian meteorological department, a thunderstorm warning had been issued for several areas in Sabah, including in Kuala Penyu and Beaufort in the interior.

The warning issued at 10am today said other parts of the state to be affected are the west coast areas comprising the districts of Papar, Putatan, Penampang and Tuaran while bad weather was also expected in Labuan.

A resident identified only as Yusof said his house in Kampung Inanam Laut, near here, was hit by floods due to the rain which began early yesterday evening.

“This is the fourth such incident this year where our village has been affected by floods,” he said.

According to the civil defence department, 68 people from 65 villages affected by floods in Beaufort and Sipitang have been relocated to temporary shelters as at 4pm today.

All district disaster operation centres in the state have been instructed to be on full alert.