KOTA KINABALU: Residents at two villages in Sabah’s rural Ranau district lost their main passageway to come and go from their settlements after their bridge partially collapsed due to being battered by strong current.
The incident took place at Jalan Kampung Lipantai Mohimboyon, about 100km from here, on Monday (Jan 2).
The two villages affected were Kampung Lipantai and Kg Waang Lama. The bridge was also the main road to a primary school in the area.
Prior to the incident, it rained heavily for some two hours from 2pm.
Ranau Fire and Rescue chief Ridwan Mohd Taib said they were alerted of the collapsed bridge by villagers at 5.05pm.
A team was immediately rushed to the location from Ranau town to assess the risk.
"We found out the bridge had (partially) collapsed after being hit by the strong river current at their village," he said when contacted on Tuesday (Jan 3).
After making their assessment, he said, the team then cordoned off the affected area to prevent any of the villagers from using the bridge.
It was also reported that continuous rain triggered minor landslips on the Kundasang-Tamparuli road in Ranau on Monday.
A Civil Defence Force spokesman said the incident occurred at the Kundasang highlands at KM92.9 of the stretch at 3pm.
"Both lanes of the road were not passable for smaller vehicles," the spokesman said.
"Contractors for the Public Works Department (JKR) arrived at the location at 3.45pm with their machinery to clear the earth and debris," he added.
About 20mins later, the spokesman said, the workers managed to clear the road allowing the traffic to pass through.