An idle 60 meter construction crane fell over, crashing through the roof of an old terrace shop-house, killing one person who was inside the house and injuring two others, at Transfer Road in George Town.
In the incident about fifteen minutes past midnight today, iron welder Liang Yit Kwang, 65, died on the spot after the crane which was being used to build a multi-storey hotel overturned on his shophouse home.
Liang is believed to have been asleep on the top floor of the two-storey shophouse at that time when the concrete wall of the building fell on him.
Meanwhile, the shophouse owner, Luar Chooi Guan, 78, and his wife, Chew Hong Choo, 76, as well their son, Seong Ean, 54, who were also in the same building were critically injured. They were rushed to the Penang Hospital for treatment.
The seven-storey high crane also hit the Maritime Malaysia Enforcement Agency building, located next to the pre-colonial shophouse, but there were no casualties there.
Penang Fire and Rescue Services Department director Azmi Tamat said an emergency call was received five minutes after the accident occurred.
He said the crew had to be cautious when removing the broken wall over Liang’s body and extricating the other victims safely, as the building’s structure was not stable.
“We took almost two hours to remove all the victims and to ensure there was no one else inside,” he told reporters at the scene later in the morning.
He added that the cause of the accident may have been due to the crane’s base being unstable.
“Further investigations on this incident will be carried out by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Chooi Guan’s other son, Seong Teik, 52, said Liang, the deceased, was from Gurun, Kedah, and had worked for his family’s foundry business for the last 30-odd years.
He said Liang was dedicated to the trade. “I am very sad at this unfortunate incident that has taken the life of one of my veteran workers, but I am grateful that my parents and my brother are safe and now being treated at the hospital,” he added.
He however said he was at a loss over how he could inform Liang’s family because Liang had never spoken to them about his kin.
Victim recalls moments after crane falls
Bernama later reported Chooi Guan describing the incident as: "It felt like a giant boulder pinning my body down and all I could do was cry for help."
"I was sleeping in my room with my wife and we were awakened by a loud bang before something fell and pinned me down. As grateful as I am to survive, I'm also sad to learn that Leong was killed," he told reporters when met at Penang Hospital here today.
Penang deputy police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Jaafar said occupants of other houses in the vicinity of the scene, including the office of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, had been ordered to vacate their premises for safety reasons.
He also said over 60 policemen had been deployed to ensure security in the area.
"Further investigation are being done under Section 338 and Section 304 (a) of the Penal Code," he added.
