Project manager operating crane plunges to his death

Posted on December 16, 2010, Thursday

KUCHING: A project manager of a construction site at Mile 10 Penrissen Road was killed after a mini-crane he was operating plunged 20 feet to the ground below, yesterday.

WORKPLACE MISHAP: Chang’s wife (second right) being comforted by her friends as a nurse inspects the body next to the fallen crane.

The incident happened around 11.30am when the 29-year-old victim, surnamed Chang, was using the crane to lift a load of sand onto the upper level of an unfinished building at the site.One sub-contractor, who was working at ground level, said he heard a sound coming from above and looked up to see both Chang and the crane falling down.He added that he did not know why Chang decided to operate the machine himself as it was not his responsibility as project manager.The victim, from Stampin, died at the scene from serious head injuries.His wife rushed to the scene upon learning of the mishap and broke down at the sight of his body.Police were called to investigate the incident and have classified the case as sudden death.In an unrelated incident, a 52-year-old Indonesian worker was found dead in his room at a quarters, along Mile 9 Penrissen Road on Tuesday night.The victim, identified as Tjong Hon Son, was believed to have died in his sleep.Co-workers discovered the incident around 8pm when they went to check on Tjong after noticing that he had been asleep for quite some time.The incident was classified as sudden death pending the result of the post mortem.