ONE team got a lot more adventure than they had bargained for in Sungei Lembing on Saturday.

Their vehicle was negotiating a sharp bend when it went off the road and ran about 6m down a steep slope.

Both the driver, a marketing manager in his 40s, and his wife, a business planner in her 30s, had only minor injuries.

Said the husband: "Thank goodness for the airbag. We emerged unscathed after going down this slope.

"It was like (something out of) a James Bond movie."

This is the first time in its four-year history that an accident has occurred during The New Paper SUVival Challenge.

But the organisers were quick to respond when it happened.

The chief marshal of the event, Mr Lionel Chin, received a call from another participant who suspected something was wrong when the couple's car disappeared suddenly from his rear-view mirror.

Mr Chin went to the described area and found the shaken couple sitting next to their car near the bottom of the slope.

The accident site was obscured by trees and not visible from the main road.

Said Mr Chin: "Our first priority was to make sure they were okay."

After checks at a hospital, the couple returned to the hotel.

The couple's vehicle was later recovered and taken back to Singapore.

The couple took part in all four editions of the SUVival challenge, and said they will continue to do so in future.

This article was first published in The New Paper.