JOHOR BARU, MALAYSIA - Three foreign factory workers, including a Vietnamese woman, were killed on the spot when a lorry rammed into the factory's canteen wall, which fell on them.

The victims, all in their 20s, are Hathile (Vietnam), Shol Hang Mia (Myanmar) and Ventkatensen (India).

One worker was seriously injured and seven escaped with minor injuries.

They were all treated at the Sultan Ismail Hospital here.

The incident took place at the JCY HDD Technology computer component factory in Kangkar Tebrau at 4am.
The victims and other workers were having their meal at the canteen when the lorry crashed into the canteen wall.

Bangladeshi Abu Thahir, 25, who was with the victims, escaped death when he decided to cut his 45-minute break short.

He said he was climbing the stairs to go into the factory building when he heard a loud crash.

"I rushed back into the canteen and saw the lorry had crashed into the wall.

"My colleagues were buried underneath the rubble. Everybody was trying to help them."

Abu said the workers, who are mostly Bangladeshis, Myanmar nationals, Indonesians and Vietnamese, were on a 12-hour shift starting from 8pm.

Johor Baru (South) deputy police chief Superintendent Zainal Baharom said the lorry was coming from Jalan Firma and heading for Jalan Kangkar Tebrau.

"Investigations revealed the driver had dozed off.

"We have detained the 30-year-old man."