Collapse victim's body buried in Bukit Merah

The body of Tajudin Zainal Abidin, 45, who was killed in the incident where an exit ramp under construction on the Second Penang Bridge in Batu Maung here collapsed on Thursday, buried at the Batu 39 Muslim Cemetery in Bukit Merah.

His wife Shariffah Ramli, 40, said she was still in a state of shock that her husband died in the blink of an eye.

His body which was found in a slumped position in the driver's seat of his car was only extricated by rescuers at 8.45pm yesterday, more than 24 hours after the collapse incident as the vehicle was trapped under much concrete rubble.

"The last time we heard from him was when he phoned our eldest daughter at 6.30 pm. He promised to buy ice cream at Medan Selera Pantai Seagate near Batu Maung before returning to our home in Permatang Damar Laut," she told reporters when met at the Penang Hospital's (HPP) Forensics Department here.

Shariffah said she suspected something was amiss when her husband did not return home for almost two hours and her calls to both his handphones went unanswered.

Fearing the worst, she said she went out to Medan Selera Pantai Seagate to search for him only the find traffic heavily jammed as a result of the collapse incident.

"Later I heard on the news on television that a Perodua Kelisa car with part of the number plate visible just like my husband's car was trapped underneath the rubble.

“I started to feel uneasy even though the report said four people were believed to be in the car," she said.

Shariffah, who found it difficult to accept the tragedy that befell the family, said she only received confirmation that the victim was her husband at noon from the police.

Tajuddin who is self employed also leaves behind two daughters, Nur Ain Maisara and Nur Aina Syazwani, aged seven and 11 respectively.

Meanwhile, HPP pathologist Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh said Tajudin suffocated to death.

"The post-mortem showed the victim died moments after the incident happened and also suffered injuries in both his legs while his rib cage was broken on both sides," he said, adding that the post-mortem started at 10 pm and was completed at 11.40 pm.

In the 7.15 pm incident, two concrete sections, a 180-tonne solid section and a 100-tonne wet section suddenly came crashing down.

More than 350 personnel from the police, Fire and Rescue Department, Civil Defence Department, the construction company and contractor are still at work trying to clear the rubble.