Monday July 11, 2005
Slabs rain down in front of motorist
SHAH ALAM: The gigantic cement slabs came down like a bolt of lightning and with a thunderous crash right in front of motorist Tan Chuin Boon.
“I couldn't see anything. My vision was blurred when the elevated interchange crashed onto the road,” said the 23-year-old cellphone technician from Damansara, who instinctively swerved his car into a nearby emergency lane.
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DISASTER SITE: A front overview of the collapsed panels at the interchange. |
However, Tan and his girlfriend Chee Shiau Hoon, 23, a kindergarten teacher in Cheras, escaped unscathed.
It was discovered later that 108 tonnes of concrete and steel slabs had crashed down from the sky.
Relating his brush with death, Tan said he had earlier taken the New Klang Valley Expressway from Petaling Jaya to get to a workshop in Klang where he could get a cheaper battery for his car.
At about 1.50pm, as he neared the Meru Link flyover, where the ill-fated elevated interchange was under construction, it collapsed right in front of him.
Still reeling from the shock, he added: “A yellow platform that ferried workers to the top of the construction area struck the roof of my car.
“The impact caused me to lose control of the wheel.”
“I am very relieved that both of us escaped unscathed. We will be going to the temple to give thanks to God for keeping us alive,” he said.
Tan called his 55-year-old father, a water filter businessman, who rushed to the scene and took them to a hospital in Shah Alam for treatment.
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The back overview. |
Computer firm owner from Kampung Jawa in Klang, K. Muruges, 30, said he was trailing Tan's car when the disaster happened, adding that there were at least 10 other motorists along the stretch at that time.
“When the concrete fell, we were like stunt drivers as we tried to avoid crashing into the slabs.
“I slammed on the brakes and pulled over immediately,” he said, adding that he then joined other rescuers.
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