Road condition ‘good’ at fatal accident site in Semporna — Shahelmey

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya said the condition of the Tawau-Semporna road, where two tourists were killed in an accident earlier this week, was good.

“The road (at KM37.3 of Jalan Balung-Semporna) condition at the location is good with visible road markings and transverse bars,” Shahelmey, who is state Works Minister, said Thursday.

On Monday, a Singaporean and a Vietnamese were killed and five others injured after the tour van they were travelling in collided with a trailer lorry.

Following the incident, state Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Christina Liew called for more attention to enhance road safety as it involved Sabah’s tourism image.

She hoped authorities would explore ways to further enhance road safety aspects with the authorities concerned to ensure similar mishaps do not occur in the future.

Such safety measures were needed especially at accidentprone stretches like the Tawau– Semporna road, she said.

Shahelmey also said there were no plans yet to upgrade the Tawau-Semporna road dual carriageway.

However, he said the Sabah Public Works Department (PWD) was committed to ensuring the road is safe and passable at all times.

“They will be monitoring safety compliance and reassessing the speed limit to prevent future accidents,” he added.

On the long-term plans, he said that the PWD highway section has listed the proposed upgrading of the TawauSemporna road into a dual carriageway under the Highway Network Development Plan (HNDP 2040).

Police said that the accident was believed to have occurred when the trailer driver lost control of the vehicle, went into the opposite lane and crashed into the oncoming van carrying tourists to Semporna.

The driver has been detained for investigation into the crash.