Latest KT stadium roof collapse blamed on repair works

The repairs for the previous roof collapse were the cause of the latest roof collapse. — WikiMedia Commons

KUALA TERENGGANU, Feb 21 — A work method mistake by the contractor is among the causes for the collapse of the Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium roof yesterday, claimed State Infrastructure Development and Public Amenities Committee chairman Datuk Za’abar Mohd Adib.

“We did an integrity study before the roof repairs but the contractor failed to propose an accurate work method to repair the roof,” he told reporters here, late last night.

He said based on initial investigations, yesterday’s collapse was believed to be due to a weakness in the main roof structure after the removal of the middle framework.

The contractor of the RM 1.7 million repair project will bear the losses incurred in the incident, he said.

Five workers were injured, two of them critically, at 11.30 am yesterday while working on the stadium’s old roof framework.

The contractor had started the repair works three years ago and it was scheduled to be completed this Sunday.

In 2009, the eastern roof section of the RM292 million stadium collapsed, resulting in repairs estimated at RM15 million.

Meanwhile, Terengganu Football Supporters Club secretary Wan Mohd Azmi Wan Ngah said the incident should be treated as a lesson.

“It was an accident and we hope the repair works can be completed as scheduled,” he said when asked to comment on the matter, here today. — Bernama