An 84-year-old man was injured when a crane overturned and crashed onto the roof of an elderly care home dormitory in Permatang Tinggi, Bukit Mertajam, on 10 October. The crane was believed to have lost stability while parked on uneven ground before it struck the building, NST reported.
The Penang Fire and Rescue Department received the emergency call at 12.38pm. The machine had been parked on a surface that was not level when it tipped over, The Vibes said, and its boom came down on the dormitory roof. Department assistant operations director John Sagun Francis said the victim sustained a head injury and was taken to hospital by Health Ministry personnel before firefighters reached the scene.
Figures from The Star show that 49 people were inside the premises when the incident happened: 38 residents and 11 workers, among them the crane driver. The other 37 residents and the 11 workers were unharmed.
The fire department identified the injured resident as Chin Ah Leak, also known as Tan Seow Kheng. He was the only person injured. The care home is Pusat Jagaan Rumah Sejahtera Permatang Tinggi, a private old folks’ home in the Permatang Tinggi area of Bukit Mertajam.
Firefighters from the Bukit Mertajam station reached the site at 1.02pm after meeting traffic congestion. A five-member team led by operations commander Mohd Azmi Zakaria inspected the surroundings to make sure the area was safe, then put up barriers to stop the public from entering the restricted zone.
Fire crews monitored the affected area and cordoned off the premises to control public movement and keep out unauthorised visitors. The scene was brought under control at 1.15pm and the operation ended at 1.45pm, with police and Health Ministry personnel assisting at the site.
The department’s preliminary finding was that the crane lost stability while parked on uneven ground. No other injuries were reported.
Mobile cranes of this kind stand on extendable outriggers that spread the machine’s weight over a wide footprint. That base decides whether the crane stays upright: on ground that is not flat, one support can sink or shift, and a boom reaching out to one side then pulls the carrier over. Investigators normally look at the ground conditions, the outrigger positions and whether the crane was under load before they settle on a cause.
Residents and workers were kept clear of the dormitory while the operation was under way. Barriers went up around the site, police and Health Ministry personnel assisted the fire crews, and the area was declared safe before the teams left.
