LANGKAWI: Police confirmed the death of a maintenance worker who fell while conducting repairs on the Langkawi Eagle Nest Skywalk at Jalan Telaga Tujuh earlier today.
Langkawi district police chief Assistant Commissioner Shariman Ashari said the victim, Khairul Nizam Jaafar, 41, a technician from Penang, died after plunging 40m onto the slopes of Gunung Mat Chincang.
"A worker was believed to have fallen 40m from a metal barrier beneath the glass deck of the skywalk. He lost consciousness after tumbling down the mountain slope.
"Authorities responded to the situation immediately despite rainy conditions. The body was retrieved at 5.11pm, and his death was confirmed by Health Ministry personnel," he said in a statement today.
Shariman said the body was brought down from the site via cable car and sent to Sultanah Maliha Hospital for a post-mortem.
"His family has been informed. He had only been working there for three months."
The case has been classified as sudden death.
Earlier, it was reported that a search and rescue operation had been launched to locate Khairul after he fell from the second-level platform during maintenance work.