Three girls injured in Penang dormitory roof collapse

Northeast district police chief ACP Soffian Santong said the fire brigade received a report on the incident at 9.42 pm, over a roof collapse at the dormitory which housed 30 female residents aged seven to 18 years.

"On arrival, the firemen found three girls aged eight, 10 and 13 years old suffering from injuries after being hit by falling roof debris in the dormitory room and all of them were safely rescued from the room by two wardens and other residents.

"The fire department proceeded to send the three injured girls to Penang Hospital (HPP) for examination and based on the initial examination, they are in a stable condition but doctors will carry out further treatment," he told reporters at the scene of the incident, here last night.

He said the eight-year-old victim suffered minor injuries while the 10-year-old complained of pain in the neck and the other one had pain at the back of the body.

Soffian said at the time of the incident there were only three victims in the dormitory room while the others were attending tuition classes, revising their lessons, resting and eating in the other parts of the hostel.

He said an inspection found that part of the roof in the 185 square metre room collapsed before debris from the roof hit the three victims and the police and fire department have decided to close the hostel.

"Based on the initial inspection, we decided to temporarily close this dormitory so that the relevant parties can carry out further inspections. So far there are no suspected criminal elements in the incident but we will carry out a detailed investigation," he said.

He said all the uninjured victims will be temporarily housed at the Penang Islamic Boys Orphanage which is located not far from the scene of the incident.

"Nine of the residents who survived will sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) test tomorrow," he said, adding that the cause of the collapse is still under investigation.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Orphan Welfare Federation of Penang president Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff said he was surprised by the incident and thanked all parties who came forward to help save the residents.

"The dormitory has been operating since 1984 and is in good condition, it has been repaired and renovated several times before," he said.