KOTA KINABALU: Two people were killed when a lorry loaded with fertiliser plunged into a ravine in the east coast Beluran district.

Beluran district police chief Supt Kasim Muda said the 44-year-old lorry driver and a 25-year-old passenger were killed in the accident at about 9am on Thursday (July 13).

He said initial investigations showed that the lorry driver had lost control of the vehicle which skidded off the road and plunged into the gorge and landed upside down.

"We suspect there was brake failure," he said, adding that the two victims died on the spot.

He said the lorry involved was travelling from Lahad Datu towards the northern Paitan area in Beluran.

He said the case was being investigated in accordance with Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987.