A LATE-night collision on the Pan Borneo Highway near Sibu has claimed the life of an elderly woman after the sport utility vehicle she was travelling in overturned during a crash involving a four-wheel-drive vehicle.

The victim, identified as 66-year-old Yap Li Yun, was pronounced dead at the scene after becoming trapped in the front passenger seat of a Perodua Aruz during the accident at Kilometre 17.7 of the Sibu-Selangau road on Saturday night.

The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department said emergency services received a distress call at 9.49pm before firefighters from the Sungai Merah Fire and Rescue Station were dispatched to the scene.

Upon arrival, rescue personnel discovered the SUV overturned on its side with the victim pinned inside the vehicle.

“A woman was found unconscious and trapped in the front passenger seat, while two other passengers sustained injuries and the driver escaped unharmed. All occupants were aged between 56 and 76 years old.

“The male driver and three female passengers in the four-wheel-drive vehicle did not suffer any injuries,” a spokesperson from the department’s operations centre said in a statement on Sunday.

Medical officers from the Ministry of Health later confirmed Yap’s death at the scene.

Firefighters used hydraulic rescue equipment to stabilise the overturned vehicle before extricating the victim from the wreckage.

Her body was subsequently handed over to the police for further investigation and post-incident procedures.

Authorities said rescue and clean-up operations concluded at approximately 11.14pm after the roadway was cleared and made safe for traffic.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation. – May 10, 2026