JOHOR BARU: The Johor Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Dosh) has ordered an internal probe into the death of a tower crane operator at an apartment construction project here.
In a statement, the department said it had also ordered the company involved to submit an internal investigation report and further investigations would be conducted to identify the cause of the incident on Friday.
Based on initial investigations, the statement said a tower crane operator was found unconscious in the tower crane cabin, Bernama reported.
“The incident was discovered when the signalman tried to contact the victim who was on top of the tower crane to start work, but no response was received.
“The victim was then brought down by firefighters before being examined by medical personnel from Hospital Sultan Ismail and confirmed dead around 1.15pm,” said the statement posted on Johor Dosh Facebook page yesterday.
According to it, the tower crane was found to be in a free-standing condition at an estimated height of 20m.
The statement also noted that the exact cause of death has not been confirmed, as the autopsy results are still pending.
“Legal action will be taken against the responsible party if there is a violation under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and the regulations thereunder.
“Under this Act, the maximum punishment for employers is a fine of up to RM500,000 or imprisonment not exceeding two years or both if convicted,” said the statement.
It was reported that a tower crane operator died while working on a crane at Residensi Puncak Austin on Friday morning.
The victim, identified as Muhamad Aliff Ishak, 33, was reported to have fallen unconscious on top of the crane tower which was about 45m high.
