KUALA LUMPUR (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Two women were crushed to death when a section of a pedestrian bridge under construction in Kuala Lumpur collapsed on Wednesday evening (March 3) and fell on the van they were in.
Three other people in the van - two women and the male driver - suffered serious injuries and are being treated at a nearby facility, Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
The accident occurred at around 6pm on Wednesday when a trailer lorry carrying an excavator was believed to have hit the scaffolding of the pedestrian bridge near a major highway, the Middle Ring Road 2, in Desa Tun Razak.
The section of the bridge collapsed on the van.
The four women were reported to be factory workers who were being driven to work, the authorities said.
Kuala Lumpur's Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department chief assistant commissioner Zulkefly Yahya said the lorry driver has been detained to facilitate investigations.
"How exactly the accident occurred is still under investigation.
"At this time (investigations show) the trailer lorry was not overloaded. Perhaps the collision was due to technical reasons," he said at the scene.
The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department said 23 firemen, three fire engines and two emergency rescue service vehicles were dispatched to the scene.
The first victim was extricated from the rubble at about 9pm, while the second was brought out about 15 minutes later.
The department spokesman said by 9.30pm, they had extricated the remaining three victims.
The two women who died at the scene have been identified as Ms Nuriana Edwin Abdullah, 47, and Ms Norhayati Abdullah, 42.
The driver of the trailer lorry has tested positive for drugs and is being remanded for investigations, said Mr Zulkefly.
"Preliminary urine test results showed that he tested positive for methamphetamine," the senior policeman said.
He added that the van driver suffered injuries to his shoulder, bruises to his lungs and internal bleeding.
One of the female survivors was injured at her left leg while the other was injured at her right thigh.
