KOTA KINABALU: A child was killed in a five-car mishap that was believed to have occurred due to potholes in Kinabatangan district.

       It is believed that the accident was triggered after one of the drivers tried to avoid potholes along the Sandakan - Lahad Datu road, near Kg Paris Satu on Saturday morning.

       Kinabatangan OCPD Supt Dzulbaharin Ismail said according to their initial investigations, two lorries had collided when the drivers tried to avoid potholes and uneven roads.

       "Two other vehicles behind - a sedan and a three-tonne lorry - had to brake to avoid crashing into the two lorries," he said in a statement.

       Unfortunately, an express bus coming from the same direction failed to stop and rammed into the back of the sedan, he said.

       Supt Dzulbaharin said the impact caused the sedan to slide forward, crashing into the three-tonne truck.

       "The sedan driver escaped with minor injuries but a girl was later pronounced dead," he said.

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       He said all 29 passengers and a driver on the express bus escaped unscathed.

       Following this accident, the bus driver was held to facilitate investigations for reckless driving, and a remand application would be made soon, said Supt Dzulbaharin.

       Sabah Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Hamsa Isnurdini said they were alerted to an accident involving five vehicles at 11.19am and a team was sent to respond.

       "When we arrived, we were informed that six people who were injured, including two adults and four children, had been sent to the hospital," he said in a statement.

       He said the adults were two women aged 36 and 38, and four children between the ages of five and 10.

       Kinabatangan Fire Station Chief Nurul Azlan Shah Jamalludin said they were later told that the youngest in the group, lost her life while undergoing emergency treatment at the Lahad Datu Hospital.

       This is the second such pothole-related tragedy reported in the district, with the first one involving a garbage truck driver - Mohamad Izuan Mambasang, 39, who died after trying to avoid a pothole near SK Sentosa Jaya on Saturday (Jan 13) morning.