KUALA TERENGGANU, May 8 — Four members of a mosque congregation cheated death when they were nearly hit by a dome tower that collapsed last night.

The incident took place around 10.30pm at the Haji Muhammad Mosque, Kampung Mengabang Tengah here after the congregation had performed the terawih prayers and had gone home 15 minutes earlier.

A witness, Aziz Salleh, 60 said it all happened in a flash as he and two other members were reciting the Quran while another member was folding prayer mats, within three metres of the collapse.

They had a rude shock when the dome tower collapsed as it made a loud, thumping sound.

"At first we thought it was the sound of thunder as it was raining heavily outside. Despite the rain, we decided to leave five minutes later as we were worried worse things could happen as the dome tower was still under construction,” said Aziz.

Meanwhile, the mosque committee chairman Wan Ismail Wan Ngah, 66, said the 100-year-old private mosque was undergoing refurbishment works since many parts of its wooden building had rotted and the roof was leaky.

"I met the Fire Department and the Public Works Department (JKR) this morning to seek advice and they recommended that the upgrading works be stopped completely,” he said. — Bernama