One dead in Jaya supermarket collapse (Updated)
PETALING JAYA, 28 May 2009: Part of the building which once housed the popular Jaya Supermarket in Section 14/20 collapsed this evening, killing one worker and trapping six others.
Two others were rescued and sent to the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Petaling Jaya OCPD ACP Arjunaidi Mohamad said.
All the nine victims of the 5pm incident were Indonesian workers.
The workers, who were preparing the building for demolition, were at the ground floor of the six-storey building at the time of the incident.
As of 7pm the fate of the six trapped workers were still unknown, he said.
"Search and rescue operations are underway and we have brought in sniffer dogs to locate the victims," he said.
Among those involved in the operation are 50 police personnel, fire and rescue (30), Smart (15), Civil Defence Department (30) and Rela (30), he said.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the Fire and Rescue Department was informed of the incident at about 5.08pm and arrive at the scene three minutes later.
When contacted, Civil Defence Department officer Lt Shahrul Kama Mohd Johari said the department had dispatched six ambulance cars.
UMMC deputy director (Professional) Prof Dr Jamiyah Hassan said the dead was known as Maskor, 28, while the injured were Maskor's brother Suryano, 32, and Sale, 48.
"The two injured victims are in stable condition," she said.
Jamiyah said 45 paramedics from three hospitals - UMMC, Sungai Buloh Hospital and Kuala Lumpur Hospital - were at the scene of the incident to provide medical assistance.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said the Fire and Rescue Department was informed of the incident at 5.08pm and arrived at the scene three minutes later.
When contacted, Civil Defence Department officer Lt Shahrul Kama Mohd Johari said the department had despatched six ambulance cars.
An eyewitness Syed Mohammad Aidid Syed Ahmad Aidid said he heard a loud roar like that of a thunder while driving pass the area.
"I saw dusts rising in the air and pieces of stone came crashing down on my car like a hailstorm," he told Bernama.
Syed Mohammad Aidid, 41, said he had just left the nearby Digital Mall building to go to his office at Phileo Damansara when the Jaya Supermarket building collapsed.
"I saw in front of me several cars but they managed to escape. I just floored the accelerator but some of the rubble hit my car and dented it.
"I was shaken with fear and prayed that I would be out of harm's way," he said. — Bernama
