ZERO visibility, murky conditions, crocodile threat, round-the-clock efforts and the relentless river currents were among the challenges faced by a team of commercial divers during the pipe repair work at Sungai Perai last December.
The underwater pipe, measuring 1.35m in circumference, had burst at the bottom of Sungai Perai on Dec 18, causing unscheduled water supply disruption for about 200,000 consumers in Penang’s southwest district and Seberang Perai on Dec 19.
The Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) swiftly hired the dive team from Port Klang, Selangor, to undertake the challenging repair task.
One of the commercial divers, Mohd Amirul Badri said when they first arrived at Sungai Perai, he knew that it was not going to be an easy job due to the dangerous river conditions.
“Our underwater pipeline repair works faced delays due to the hazardous condition at Sungai Perai, but we continued to work overnight.
“Despite the zero visibility hindering our underwater welding efforts, we persevered, using our sense of touch to detect the leaks in the pipeline. It is not easy but we manage to get the job done.
“However, the pipeline started to burst again after the repair works had been completed due to immense water pressure.
“This led the team to implement an alternative solution – clamping a steel plate to the leaking underwater pipe section, which proved to be a more effective method,” Mohd Amirul told Buletin Mutiara during an interview session at The Journey Hotel Penang in Transfer Road recently.
Facing the crocodile threat added another layer of challenge for Sew Yong Ching, another commercial diver at Sungai Perai.
“When we descended into the river, we can’t even see anything, it’s totally zero visibility there.
“However, such situation is normal for us as we have been doing other underwater works at various rivers with active crocodile populations in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Adhering to strict rules, we ensure no bodily fluids are released from our body as they can attract wild animals, including crocodiles,” he said.
According to Mohd Amirul, they worked in shifts, with about four divers descending into the Sungai Perai incident for each shift.
“Due to the zero visibility danger, having too many simultaneously is risky.
“Each shift lasts around two hours, rotating among our team of 14. We cannot rush the repair works because of the zero visibility. So, we do the underwater repair works cautiously.
“We are glad that everything went smoothly until we managed to complete the repair works of the underwater pipe in Sungai Perai,” said Mohd Amirul.
Story by Riadz Akmal
Pix by Ahmad Adil Muhamad