Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (BBN)-A Bangladeshi worker was killed and two remain missing when a 650-tonne span of the MRT guideway had dislodged from its piers and fallen to the ground in Malaysia.
The dead is identified as Mohammad Elahi Hossain while the missing are: Mohamad Faruk Khan and Mohammad Alauddin Mollik.
The accident occurred Monday night at a Mass Rapid Transit Corporation site, reports The Rakyat Post.
The body of Hossain was recovered from under the fallen span Tuesday morning and taken to Sungai Buloh Hospital by ambulance for a post-mortem.
The search continues for the two remaining Bangladeshi workers.
All three workers were working on the 650-tonne span when the incident occurred.
Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said he was upset over the news.
“We have given a few reminders to the companies, including MRT Corp to adhere to the regulations and good practices and stressed that safety of the workers were a top priority,” he told The Rakyat Post.
A stop-work order on the site, Fadillah revealed, had been issued.
He also said that his ministry would look into investigations conducted on the incident in order to “avoid and minimise” such incidents.
Meanwhile in a statement earlier this morning, MRT Corp said that search and rescue efforts for the three unaccounted workers continued throughout the night following the 8.30pm incident where a span of the MRT guideway had dislodged from its piers and fallen to the ground below.
MRT Corp chief executive officer Datuk Wira Azhar Abdul Hamid, who was at the incident location, said the company and the authorities would ensure the cause for this accident was determined quickly.
Azhar again expressed regret and sorrow for the accident and for what had happened to the workers.
“No effort will be spared in getting to the bottom of this tragic incident.
“We will also not spare anyone whose actions are found to have caused or contributed to this accident.”
Initial investigations revealed that the cause of the incident might be localised to this particular span and other spans which had been erected were not affected.
“Immediate checks carried out have revealed that there is no reason for the public to worry about the other spans which have been built.”
Its Strategy, Communications and Public Relations head, Amir Mahmood Razak, meanwhile explained that the accident occurred when three workers were placing a concrete sidewall parapet when the span fell on the three foreign workers from 37 metres.
“One of them managed to jump away in time and is currently being treated at Sungai Buloh Hospital.
“The relevant companies would be contacting the Bangladeshi embassy to inform them of this accident,” Amir said to reporters today at the site.
BBN/JF/AD-19Aug14-12:30pm (BST)