GEORGE TOWN:THE Menara Umno tragedy, which saw a massive lightning arrester crashing down from the rooftop of a 21-storey building exactly one year ago, is still very fresh in the mind of Lee Chai Song.
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THE Menara Umno tragedy, which saw a massive lightning arrester crashing down from the rooftop of a 21-storey building exactly one year ago, is still very fresh in the mind of Lee Chai Song.
The 49-year-old is the widow of hawker, Lim Chin Aik, who died after his car was crushed and swallowed by the crater created from the impact of the fallen metallic pole.
Lee has picked up the pieces and moved on with her life but is still saddened by the loss of her husband, whose remains had yet to be recovered after the incident on June 13 last year.
She declined to be interviewed in person and speaking in a telephone interview, Lee, with a tinge of sadness, admitted the incident had changed some things in her life.
"Everytime I go to George Town, I will avoid using Jalan Macalister.
"I have overcome the emotional pain but the memory does not seem to go away. I really miss my husband."
Lee said she continued operating an economy rice stall, which was previously run by Lim in Pulau Tikus here.
Together with her son and a daughter, she moved out from Lim Jetty in Weld Quay to an undisclosed location after the tragedy.
She said the family had performed a ritual rite to appease the soul of Lim at a Taoist temple in Jalan Zoo, Air Itam, together with family members early this month.
"We are keeping our heads high. My husband may have left us but his spirit remains very much with us."
In the freak incident, a 15m section of a broken mast, along with a lightning arrester from the top of the 93.6m Menara Umno, plunged onto Jalan Macalister and hit Lim, who was driving his car.
Lim's body was never recovered and is believed to be buried deep inside the crater along with chunks of concrete and strands of high-tensile steel from the arrester.
Rescuers dug 7m into the ground but were forced to stop by state authorities for fear the works might affect the stability of nearby buildings.
A Menara Umno building security guard, Mohd Roslan Abdul Rahman, 59, said he vividly remembered the incident.
He was on duty when some structures on the ground, including roadside stalls, rattled amid the gusty wind
"I was so scared. I remembered how Menara Umno felt like it was swaying prior to the arrester tumbling to the ground.
"It sounded like an explosion when the arrestor hit the ground and I thought my heart had skipped a beat. I ran inside the lift area to hide but a man with head injuries came running in for help.
"The whole incident felt like it was the end of the world."
Roslan said the impact of the falling lightning arrester was akin to an earthquake with a huge crater appearing in the middle of the road.
The fallen arrester also left a trail of destruction where several parked vehicles were destroyed in the aftermath.
Last November, the Coroner's Court returned a verdict of misadventure in Lim's death.
The 6.45pm thunderstorm on June 13 last year resulted in traffic congestion in many parts of George Town.
At least six cars were crushed by the fallen lightning conductor, which also claimed another life and injuring nine others.
Second victim, Jahir Hussain Sulaiman, 46, a co-driver of a lorry carrying liquefied petroleum gas cylinders, was crushed by the fallen object and died instantly.