KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 – Three MRT construction workers, all Bangladesh nationals, are feared dead after being trapped under a 490-tonne concrete span that collapsed at the MRT worksite near former Rubber Research Institute (RRI) in Kota Damansara yesterday night.
MRT Corp in a statement said the workers feared dead are Mohamad Faruk Khan, Mohammad Elahi Hossain and Mohammad Alauddin Mollik but no members of the public
were involved in the incident as there was no access to the site.
“Rescue efforts are currently on-going and an emergency response team is on standby at the site,” the statement said. A span of the MRT guide way had dislodged from its piers and fallen on the ground below at 8.30pm yesterday while work to construct the parapet for the guide way was being carried out.
The span, which was made up of 14 units of segmented box girders, was 38m in length and weighed 490 tonnes. MRT Corp Chief Executive Officer Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid who is at the site expressed deep regret over the incident.
“Although investigations are underway, MRT Corp assumes full responsibility for the incident. Once investigations are completed, action on those responsible will be taken,” he said in a statement.
A fire and rescue department spokesman when contacted said the search and rescue operation, which include the K-9 unit, would go on until the bodies, if
any was found. “We are using the tunelling approach to dig at the site because the span is too heavy and long to lift,” said the spokesman.
– BERNAMA
