GEORGE TOWN: A trailer laden with a crane crashed into an overhead pedestrian bridge at Weld Quay here on Wednesday, after the boom of the crane snagged the bridge, badly damaging it.
The incident at 4.15pm, occurred when the trailer, travelling from Tanjung Tokong to Butterworth, was passing under the five-metre high bridge but the crane it was carrying was too high to pass safely under the bridge and snagged the structure.
Northeast district police chief ACP Soffian Santong said the incident caused massive jams in both directions in front of the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal because three lanes were obstructed by the incident.
“Preliminary investigation showed that most likely the overhead bridge will collapse if the crane is removed. So, we need another crane to support the bridge and the process to remove it will take time,” he said when contacted by Bernama here.
No one was injured in the incident and authorities had cordoned off the roads in front of the ferry terminal, he said, adding only one lane opened for vehicle users and buses for passengers to enter and exit the terminal.
Soffian said the roads in front of the terminal would be closed until the process of bringing down the bridge is completed and the incident is being investigated under Section 42 of the Road Transport Act 1987.
He said the 30-year-old trailer driver was on his way home to Butterworth after work when the incident occurred.
The driver had travelled under the same bridge when he went to Tanjung Tokong in the morning and did not hit the bridge, he added.
Meanwhile, Penang Mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said work to cut the utility cables on the structure of the bridge was being carried out by Tenaga Nasional Berhad and Telekom Malaysia to enable the frames to be dismantled. – Bernama
