BANDAR BAHARU: Two close friends died after the motorcycle they were riding plunged into a sinkhole at Jalan Taman Serdang near here last night.
In the 10pm incident, victims Muhammad Haikal Hakimi Mohd Noor, 17, and Mohamad Haziq Ishak, also 17, were buried alive under a mound of earth.
Bandar Baharu district police chief deputy superintendent Baruddin Wariso said Haikal, from Kampung Leret C and Haziq, from Kampung Leret A, failed to realise that part of the road had collapsed.
He said following the incident, members of the public contacted the authorities and search and rescue operation was launched.
The operation involved the police, Serdang Fire and Rescue Department, Malaysia Civil Defence Force and the Parit Buntar voluntary Bomba team.
“They discovered and extracted Haikal’s body from the rubble at 12.15am and Haziq’s five minutes later.
“Both bodies were sent to the Forensics Unit at Kulim Hospital for identification and post-mortem,” he said when contacted by the New Straits Times Press today.
Meanwhile, Serdang Fire and Rescue Department chief said they received an emergency call on the incident at 10.07pm.
He said a total of 11 personnel and an Emergency Medical Responder team were rushed to the scene to extricate the victims.
“The team found the motorcycle inside the sinkhole and went to work immediately. They had to use hoes to dig through the rubble before both victims were found.
Meanwhile, Bandar Baharu state assemblyman Datuk Norsabrina Mohd Noor, who was also at the scene, said the Works Department and Bandar Baharu Municipal Council have been ordered to seal off the road immediately.
She said Taman Serdang residents heading to Serdang can use an alternative road, Jalan Kampung Setol, while authorities repair the damaged road.