PETALING JAYA: Developers of the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) have been instructed to check all launching gantries and beams at a construction site after three people were killed after a crane collapsed there.
The Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) said contractors have also been instructed to stop all work at the site but stabilisation works and recovery efforts by rescuers are allowed to continue.
"The developers have also been tasked to build a temporary access lane for residents at the nearby Puncak Banyan Condominium and they should inform all expressway users about it through all communication channels," LLM said in a statement on Tuesday (March 23).
LLM said these decisions were reached at a meeting between SUKE and LLM on Tuesday.
Representatives from the Works Ministry, Occupational Safety and Health Department (DOSH), Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), as well as consultant architects and contractors, were also at the meeting.
LLM said roads on Taman Leng Seng (Zone 2) and Jalan Alam Damai (Zone 3) have also been closed to road users for safety reasons.
It added SUKE would need to identify an alternative route for road users to take at Persiaran Alam Damai (Zone 1) in case there is a decision to block that route as well.
"DOSH and CIDB are investigating the cause of the incident and will be presenting a report on it to the government," LLM said.
Construction on the SUKE began in late August 2019 and is about 88.8% completed.
The 24.4km expressway is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2021.
On Monday (March 22), a crane at the construction site collapsed and crushed a passing car.
The accident claimed the lives of Chinese nationals Ding Kunfu, Jiang Jinboa and Mu Tong Zheng.
Ding and Jiang are believed to have died after falling 36.6m and their bodies were recovered on Monday. Efforts are ongoing to extricate Mu's remains.
The driver of the car was also injured.
This is the second incident involving the SUKE this year, as five people were trapped in a van travelling on the MRR2 Highway near Bandar Tasik Selatan on March 3 when a portion of a bridge under construction fell on it at around 5.58pm after it was hit by a trailer carrying heavy machinery.
In the previous incident, two women were killed while another three were seriously injured.
Following the previous incident, Projek Lintasan Sungai Besi-Ulu Klang Sdn Bhd confirmed that the trailer that hit the scaffolding at the SUKE construction site was a private vehicle and was not involved in or affiliated with the construction of the highway in any way.
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