PETALING JAYA, Feb 26 — A man was injured after a crawler crane collapsed onto the middle of a highway during construction works on the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway in Ampang this morning.
The incident also caused massive congestion along the highway.
A Selangor Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson said the 36-year-old victim, a crane operator, suffered minor injuries to his hip and was treated by paramedics at the location.
“The victim was given first aid treatment and subsequently brought to Hospital Ampang. No further casualties were reported,” the spokesman said.
Seven personnel from the Ampang Fire and Rescue Department station were dispatched to the scene after the department was notified of the emergency at 10.20am.
Selangor Traffic Investigations and Enforcement chief Superintendent Azman Shari’at said authorities were initially alerted to the incident near Jalan Bunga Anggerik, Dataran Ukay along MRR2 around 9.58am.
“The crane lost its balance and fell towards the road with its crane boom spread across two out of three lanes of the highway (slow lane and the middle lane) with only the right most lane accessible,” he said.
Initial investigation showed the crawler crane was lifting casings during piling works of a retaining wall on an elevated ground beside the highway when it lost its footing.
Azman said the police, Fire and Rescue Department and traffic control centre personnel from the Malaysian Highway Authority were brought in to control the traffic flow at the location.
The incident created a traffic crawl spanning at least four kilometres on both directions.
Motorists are advised to seek for detours as another crane was currently in the process of being acquired to move the obstruction.
