Ongoing rescue works at the SUKE project site in Alam Damai, where a launcher crane tipped over yesterday morning, killing three people. — Bernama photo
KUALA LUMPUR: Three foreign workers died after a launcher crane tipped over at the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) construction site near Puncak Banyan, Persiaran Alam Damai, Cheras yesterday morning.
Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) director Nordin Pauzi said the three dead were the project’s construction workers while three others were injured.
“One of the dead victims is still crushed at the site as rescue work is going on.
“The department and the contractor are cooperating to lift the load crushing the victim,” he told reporters at the location of the incident.
He said Bomba received a call about the incident at about 8.45am, after which three fire engines from the Cheras, Tun Razak and Hang Tuah stations were rushed to the scene.
He said two of the fatal victims were Chinese construction workers, who fell from a height of 120 feet while maintaining the track.
“The third victim, who was also from China, died when he fell on the highway construction track,” he said.
Nordin said rescuers were having difficulty in extricating the body of the third victim as the construction structure was not stable and the victim was trapped between the construction beam and the launcher crane.
Meanwhile, Cheras police chief ACP Mohamed Mokhsein Mohamed Zon said police had opened an investigation paper under Section 43(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987, on the incident.
He said the driver of a Perodua Bezza, a Malaysian, who was crushed by the crane while passing through, was seriously injured and had been brought to Canselor Tuanku Muhriz Hospital.
”Following that, police have temporarily closed the section and created as diversion at Jalan Cerdas here to prevent traffic from passing through the scene,” he said.
Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (PROLINTAS) – the holder of the expressway concession – announced that the incident could have been due to a component of the gantry falling off, but investigation into the actual cause was still on-going.
“Following the incident, the ‘Emergency Response Team’ of SUKE and firefighters have closed the incident section in both directions, and rescue works are still going on,” said the statement. — Bernama