KUALA LUMPUR – Eighteen individuals are reportedly trapped beneath the debris of a collapsed construction project at the DHL building construction site along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Highway in Bayan Lepas, Penang.
At the time of writing, the status of the victims was unknown, according to the Fire and Rescue Department.
The department’s Jalan Perak operations head, Azrul Khairi Abu Bakar, said rescuers received a distress call about the incident at around 9.58pm last night.
He said firefighters are carrying out rescue operations at the site of the collapsed structure.
Rescuers were seen making their way through debris of broken scaffolding in photographs provided by the department.
“Preliminary information indicates that 18 individuals are trapped, and ongoing rescue efforts are in progress. Regular updates will follow as the situation unfolds,” he said.
Also present at the incident site was Batu Maung assemblyman Datuk Mohamad Abdul Hamid, who verified that there were a total of 18 victims in the incident.
“I have been informed that the incident occurred at about 8.30pm, and that there are 18 Bangladeshi individuals (involved),” he said, adding that the rescue team is currently still rescuing the victims from the rubble.
It is understood that five victims have been rescued since the operations commenced. – November 28, 2023