Foreign worker found dead at quarry, believed due to wheel loader mishap

A police photo shows a traffic personnel at the quarry to inspect the wheel loader.

KUCHING (Nov 2): A foreign worker was believed to have died in a mishap involving a wheel loader at a quarry in Pulau Salak, near here.

Sarawak Traffic Investigation and Enforcement Department head Supt Alexson Naga Chabu said the deceased was identified as Abdul Latip, a 27-year-old Indonesian who was employed at the quarry as a general worker.

According to him, police received a report Sunday stating that a fatal accident had occurred at the site the previous day.

“Preliminary investigation found that a 40-year-old worker, also a foreigner, had driven a wheel loader into a shelter used by workers to rest around 2pm that day.

“The operator stated that while driving the machinery into the shelter, he did not notice anyone resting or walking in the area. Later around 5pm, he drove the machinery out of the shelter to carry out a task, and upon completion, placed it at the quarry’s workshop,” he said in a statement yesterday.

On Sunday, however, the operator was informed by a supervisor that Abdul Latip was found dead at the shelter area where the wheel loader had been parked the day before.

Alexson said the employer believed the operator had unknowingly caused the fatal mishap, but this was denied by the operator.

“Both foreign workers did not possess any relevant documents, including a valid licence to operate the machinery.

“The incident is being investigated under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act 1987. No criminal element has been detected in this case thus far.”

He said the victim’s body was sent to Sarawak General Hospital for a post-mortem, while the operator was detained to facilitate the investigation.

from Borneo Post Online https://bit.ly/3pXwLSf
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