Body of victim resort building collapse recovered

KUALA BESUT: The body of a worker who was buried alive after a building under construction collapsed at a resort on Pulau Perhentian near here yesterday has been recovered.

Terengganu police chief Datuk Mazli Mazlan said the body of Suparno, an Indonesian in his 40s, was retrieved by a search and rescue (SAR) team at about 3.15 pm today.

"The body was then taken to the Kuala Besut jetty before being transported to the Forensic Unit of the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital (HSNZ) for an autopsy.

"The corpse was already smelling foul as the victim was trapped under the rubble for more than 24 hours," he told reporters at the scene.

Mazli thanked the SAR team involving 83 personnel from various agencies, saying the search had been terminated.

Seven construction workers were trapped in the rubble after the restaurant building gave way but six of them survived.

Four of the victims managed to crawl out of the rubble on their own while two others were rescued.

The incident is said to have happened at about 4.30 am when all the workers were asleep.

-- BERNAMA