THE Penang government is taking a very serious view of the landslide incident at Jalan Bukit Kukus in Paya Terubong which had claimed three lives thus far.
“Right now, our focus is on the search and rescue (SAR) mission and not on the investigation of the incident,” state Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari told reporters after officiating the IWK Friends of Rivers programme in Batu Ferringhi this morning.
“We believe there could be two or three more victims but we’re not sure.
“The site is actually closed following a stop work order issued for the whole project more than a week ago on Oct 11. They were not supposed to be there.”
Fourteen beams, each measuring 25m long, fell on Oct 11 when they were accidentally knocked down by a crane operator.
This resulted in the issuance of the stop work order by the Penang Department of Occupational Safety and Health on the RM545mil Jalan Bukit Kukus paired road project.
On a normal working day, Zairil said the workers could be accounted for but since no work was ongoing, it was difficult to determine who went in or out of the site.
“I cannot say what caused the landslide. We will investigate whether the contractor followed the SOP (standard operating procedure) or whether there was any negligence.
“We also want to know whether the contractor followed the mitigation plans. I cannot say until a full investigation is conducted.
“All projects have risks. The whole idea of mitigation plans is to reduce the risks. But if the contractor does not follow procedures, we will take stiff action,” said Zairl.
He also confirmed that the third victim, from Myanmar was found at about 1.30am this morning.
The body of Khin Aye Khaing, 33, was identified by her husband.
Earlier, the two victims were identified as Indonesian Samsul Asman, 19, and Bangladeshi Attrul, 35.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Law Suun Ting