Four hurt in gas cylinder crash

IPOH: The driver of a Perodua Alza and his son were injured when their car was engulfed in flames after it crashed into into some gas cylinders which spilled from a tanker after the Menora Tunnel at Km257 northbound of the North-South Expressway here today.
The Perodua Alza and a Proton Myvi could not stop in time and hit the cylinders in the 9.20am incident. However, only the Alza caught fire when the cylinders exploded.
The driver, Mohd Nasir Jaafar, 39, sustained minor injuries. His 10-year-old son Muhamad Syakirin is in serious condition.
"It was too late for me to stop the car after the cylinders fell off the lorry," Mohd Nasir said.
"I was injured and could not move. Luckily the public managed to pull us out."
The retired army personnel was travelling to Kedah from Port Dickson.
The lorry driver, who was not identified, also suffered minor injuries. However, his three-year-old son was seriously injured.
All the victims were admitted to the Raja Permaisuri Bainun hospital in Ipoh.
A couple in the Myvi escaped unhurt.
Kuala Kangsar district police chief ACP Ghuzlan Salleh said: "Initial investigation revealed the lorry driver lost control causing the vehicle to overturn."
The impact caused the cylinders to roll off the lorry.
Police have recorded a statement from the driver in his 40s to facilitate investigations.
A Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said the victims were pulled out by passers-by and sent to the hospital.
The incident caused a massive jam and motorists were advised to exit at Ipoh and continue their journey on Federal Route One (the old trunk road) before re-entering at Kuala Kangsar onto the highway.
Firemen cleared the road at 11am.