KUALA LUMPUR: An art student was killed when a barbell fell on him while he was training at a gym in Taman Melawati, Ampang on Tuesday.
Ong Chong Jin, 20, was lifting a 110kg barbell when it fell on his neck about 7.45pm.
Sources said the victim was with several others at the gym but had been alone at the time of the accident.
“Some of the others were in the prayer room while others went out for a smoke. When one of his friends came back, he found the victim lying unconscious with the barbell on his neck,” a source said.
The source said the friends moved the barbell together and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Ong while waiting for an ambulance, but the victim showed no signs of response.
He added that the victim was pronounced dead by the medical team and his body later taken to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination.
It is learnt that Ong was a fitness enthusiast who studied at the Malaysian Institute of Art. He was also a part-time real estate agent.
Ampang police chief Assistant Commissioner Hamzah Alias confirmed the case, adding that it had been classified as “sudden death”.