Stadium Collapse: Architect Doubts Capability Of Workers

The collapsed roof. Pic: Raja Kamarul BahrinPUTRAJAYA: Architect Raja Datuk Kamarul Bahrin Shah Raja Ahmad, who designed the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Kuala Terengganu, once again questioned the state government after another section of the roof fell through yesterday morning.  Alluding to the contractors involved in the current project, he asked whether they are qualified enough since the incident happened while the stadium is currently undergoing re-construction work. According to Bernama report, five workers were injured, three seriously, when steel structures supporting the roof of the stadium collapsed at 11.30am yesterday. Raja Kamarul Bahrin wanted to know why it took so long to dismantle the remaining roof, as it would only be a matter time before history repeated itself. "Were they qualified to dismantle the roof?" he asked when contacted by fz.com. He stressed that dismantling of the remaining frame should have been carried out by the original Korean contractors who were responsible for the design, supply and the installation of the roof. He added that the state government cannot blame anyone for today's incident as he had been warning them of such possibilities since the first incident four years ago. On June 2, 2009, part of the roof collapsed at the stadium's grandstand a year after it opened for the Malaysia Games (Sukma) in 2008, but no one was hurt then while repair works started at the end of last year. On today's incident, Terengganu deputy police chief Datuk Hamzah Mohd Jamil said workers were dismantling the old roof structure when the incident happened. "About 137m or two thirds of the old structure collapsed when eight workers were carrying out work at the site," he said. Meanwhile, Bernama also reported that one of the victims, Safian Abdul Manaf, 21, said the incident happened so fast that he could not do anything. Safian said he was trying to shift a steel frame that was 137 meters long and 25 meters high when he saw the frame fall and pin him down. He broke his right leg, injured his mouth and lost his teeth. "It happened about an hour after I started work. I managed to see the frame falling but I couldn't do anything. It happened so fast. "When I fell, my face knocked against a wall (terrace) and I passed out. When I regained conscious I was in an ambulance," he said when met at the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital. Apart from Safian, Mohd Nazirul Nizam Marzuki, 25, (right knee injury) and Mohd Saidi Ismail, 21, (back injury) were also admitted while Mohd Syukri Jusuh, 31, and Wan Mohd Fajrulazmi Wan Ahmad, 26, suffered minor injuries. - Sean Augustin / fz.com http://fz.com/content/stadium-architect-doubts-capability-workers