SIBU, Aug 19 — An elderly man and his Indonesian colleague died believed to be due to electric shock after the excavator arm transported by the lorry they were travelling in got entangled with an overhead electric cable in Jalan Semalau, Tanjung Manis, about 100 kilometres from here, today.
Tanjung Manis Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) chief Wan Umar Wan Alek said the 61-year-old man was known as Hi Sieh King while his friend has yet to be identified.
The fire department received a distress call of a lorry that caught fire on Jalan Semalau heading to Kampung Jerijih, at 9.15am and immediately dispatched a team to the incident scene, 18 kilometres away.
“On arrival at the site, an excavator was seen entangled with the electrical cable and there was a fire in the front tyre on the driver’s side. Two victims were found lying beside the truck on the driver’s side,” he said in a statement today.
He said the extinguishing operation could not proceed because there was still electric current passing through both vehicles and it could only start after receiving information from the Sarawak electricity supplier company that the power supply had been cut.
He said a medical officer who carried out an examination confirmed that the two victims had died before their remains were handed over to the Belawai district police for further action.
Meanwhile, the second electrocution victim has been identified as Indonesian Al Bari Mahmud, 34, from Dusun Polaria, 008/004, Sungai Rusa, Selakau, Singkawang, Indonesia, Wan Umar said.
“Preliminary investigations revealed both victims died at the scene due to electrocution when the excavator arm being transported by the trailer got caught in the overhead electric cable,” he said. The remains of both men have been sent to Sibu Hospital for further action, he added. — Bernama
