KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) said it is working with the police to locate the crane operator who ran off after the hook from his machine fell and killed a woman yesterday.

According to news portal The Star Online, DOSH director-general Datuk Mohtar Musri said the construction company and firm supplying the crane could not confirm if the person was a local, as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.

"We cannot locate this person. We are trying to get his details from his employer. We're not sure if he is Malaysian or whether he was trained properly to handle the crane,” he was quoted saying by the portal.

He said they are investigating all parties involved to determine who was responsible for causing the death of 24-year-old Chin Khoon Sing.

Mohtar said that standard practice dictates that cranes cannot outside a construction site’s hoardings, leading DOSH to suspect that the hook fell on something that caused it to ricochet onto the road.

"There are many parties we are investigating. First the contractor and then there is the company that supplied the crane,” he was quoted saying by the portal.

"So now we are trying to establish which party is directly responsible for the accident.”

The report added that Mohtar said investigation papers were already being prepared by DOSH, with parties found to have violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 and the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 to be liable for two years’ jail or fines of up to RM250,000.

Chin was killed yesterday when the sheave hook of an overhead crane landed on her car in Jalan Raja Chulan near the Pavilion shopping complex.

She was found pinned inside the wrecked Perodua Kelisa when rescue personnel arrived at the scene soon after the 7.15pm incident.