Gua Musang fire and rescue department operations commander Che Razak Harun said the accident involved a Nissan Serena carrying four men and a Toyota Hiace with a man and a woman.

“We received an emergency call on the incident at 1.01pm, after which fire engines from the Gua Musang station were dispatched to the scene.

“Upon the team’s arrival at 1.43pm, we found six victims. Three men in the Serena died at the scene, while the driver was trapped and suffered serious injuries,” Bernama reported him as saying.

He added that the Toyota Hiace occupants, who sustained serious injuries, were rushed to Gua Musang Hospital for further treatment.

Meanwhile, Gua Musang police chief Sik Choon Foo said the dead were Nik Razizi Nik Rahim, 55; Nik Azmi Nik Othman, 47; and Saiful Kamaruzaman, 33.

Bernama reported him as saying preliminary investigations found that the accident occurred when the 42-year-old driver of the Nissan Serena, who was travelling from Kota Bharu to Kuala Lumpur with three colleagues to attend a course, lost control of his vehicle.

“The MPV skidded into the opposite lane and collided with a van coming from the other direction.

“The van spun before ramming the stone barrier on the left side of the road towards Gua Musang,” he said, adding that the case is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.

He appealed to eye-witnesses to contact investigating officer Aida at 019-9144855 or the traffic investigation and enforcement division at the Gua Musang police headquarters at 09-9121222.