Fatal trench collapse: CIDB issues stop work order

KUANTAN: The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has issued a stop-work order on the construction of the Lingkaran Tengah Utama (LTU) Package 4 project in Lipis, near here following a trench collapse that resulted in a fatality on Monday.

Its chief executive Datuk Mohd Zaid Zakaria said the subcontractor involved was instructed to stop the excavation work until sufficient control over the work was submitted to the CIDB and the contractor complied with the safety instructions for soil excavation work from the Department of Occupational Safety and Health.

"CIDB's preliminary investigation found that the subcontractor did not declare the project in the CIDB system and three construction workers including the deceased did not have a CIDB construction personnel registration card while another had an expired registration card.

"In addition, the construction site supervisor for the project was also found to be an uncertified supervisor," he said in a statement here today.

Mohd Zaid said the investigation into the incident was being carried out under Section 34B (1) of the CIDB Act (Act 520).

In the 11 am incident, an Indonesian construction worker died after being trapped under the rubble in a trench at the project site in Kampung Berembang.

Khairul Anam, 28, from East Java had stepped into the newly dug trench to measure its depth when suddenly, a pile of earth landed on him.

-- BERNAMA