A FAMILY of five managed to scramble out of their car in the nick of time when it went up in flames in Jalan Genting Highlands, Pahang yesterday.

A Pahang Fire and Rescue Department spokesman said the department received an emergency call at 1.44pm and firefighters from the Genting Highlands fire and rescue station rushed to the scene.

He said upon their arrival, they found a car, which is believed to have caught fire at Km2.9, was sliding backwards along the road.

“An operation to put out the fire was carried out but 80% of the vehicle had been razed. A couple and their three children escaped unhurt,” he said when contacted today.

The cause of the fire is being investigated by the department’s forensic team, he said.

Meanwhile, Bentong district police chief Zaiham Mohd Kahar said preliminary investigations found that the car was heading to Genting Highlands from Kuala Lumpur when the incident occurred.

He said fire broke out at the engine compartment of the car, which was driven by a 44-year-old man, and rapidly spread to other parts of the vehicle.

“The driver stopped the car and the family scrambled to safety,” he said in a statement today, adding that the car then slid backwards and collided with a multi-purpose vehicle (MPV).

“The driver of the MPV was unhurt.”

He urged witnesses to the incident to come forward to assist in the investigation into the case.

Earlier, a video of a burning car backing into another vehicle on a hilly stretch of the road, which was recorded by a Genting Highlands cable car passenger, went viral on social media. – Bernama, May 10, 2022.