GEORGE TOWN: Police and the Fire and Rescue Department ended the search-and-rescue (SAR) mission for victims believed buried in the rubble of a section of an exit ramp under construction at the Second Penang Bridge which collapsed nearby Batu Maung here on Thursday, at 6pm yesterday.
Penang deputy police chief Datuk Abdul Rahman Jaafar said the decision was taken after consultations between the police, Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Department.
“We are handing over the crash site to the contractor involved to do cleaning up work,” he told reporters here.
He also said roads in the vicinity of the crash site would be closed until further notice to allow the contractor to carry out the cleaning work without any hindrance and would only be reopened to the public once safety matters were assured by engineering experts.
He added that overall he was satisfied on how the SAR operation was carried out.
“The Civil Defence Department, police, Fire and Rescue Department and other agencies involved did their best to ensure the SAR operation progressed smoothly,” he said.
On Friday night, the body of Tajudin Zainal Abidin, 45, who was trapped in a Perodua Kelisa car beneath the rubble was extricated at about 8.45pm, more than 24 hours after the collapse incident.
Three others were injured in the incident, a Myanmar and and Indonesian who were working on the ramp when it collapsed and are receiving treatment at the Penang Hospital and a local woman who sustained minor injuries. — Bernama