Father, 3-year-old daughter burnt alive in Penang highway crash

Firemen putting out the fire at the scene of the accident.

GEORGE TOWN: A Chinese New Year celebration for a young family of three turned tragic when their vehicle crashed and burned at the North-South Expressway (PLUS) near Bertam, in Penang, this morning.

Yeap Boon Kwan, 23, and his daughter Yeap Jing Xuan, three, were burnt alive.

Boon Kwan’s wife Chan Sin Yee, 29, had minor injuries after she was thrown out of the car.

In the 10am incident, police said the Toyota Vellfire appeared to have gone out of control and crashed into a divider at KM120 (northbound) between the Bertam and Sg Petani (South) exits.

Witnesses told police that the car caught fire upon impact and a woman was thrown out of the car.

Other motorists slowed down to help put out the fire, including a bus driver who brought a fire extinguisher, but the fire was too strong.

A photograph of Yeap Boon Kwan, his wife Chan Sin Yee and their daughter taken from Facebook.

In a video shot by another motorist in the opposite direction, a woman was seen standing next to the police in the middle of the highway, gesturing for help.

North Seberang Perai police chief Nor Zainy Mohd Noor said Chan was sent to the Kepala Batas Hospital for treatment.

The remains of Boon Kwan and his daughter were also brought to the same hospital for a post-mortem. - FMT