IPOH: Two men died after they were trapped inside a four-wheel drive (4WD) that lost control, turned turtle, ploughed into a canal and sank in Kampung Pulau Pisang, about 40km from here, on Thursday (Dec 28) morning.

Perak Tengah district deputy police chief Deputy Supt Mohd Uzir Ismail said that in the 11.40am incident, the 39-year-old driver of the 4WD and his 25-year-old passenger had earlier loaded the vehicle with oil palm from a plantation in the village.

"During the accident, both the driver and passenger are believed to have been trapped inside the vehicle that sank in the canal.

"Firemen later managed to (extricate) the victims, who were pronounced dead at the scene,” he said in a statement on Thursday night.

He added that initial investigations revealed that the stretch of the road was a straight single narrow lane that was not tarred, but the weather was good.

DSP Mohd Uzir said the post-mortem report revealed that the cause of death of the driver was "drowning due to road vehicle accident" while the passenger died of "pulmonary oedema consistent with drowning due to motor vehicle accident".

He urged anyone with information to contact the investigating officer from Perak Tengah district police headquarters at 014-6790829 or the nearest police station. – Bernama