Sensational first-hand account of a disaster in Ipoh....

Nosy CPD woke up early one Saturday and went to work as usual (before 730am). Just as she was about to enter the operating theatre complex on 3rd floor (which by the way, faces Fair Park and the blue-domed mosque),one of her colleagues motioned frantically and pointed towards a pile of cement and rubble.



"Hey, fren...look at that collapsed building," she said.


" What?"

Catastrophe struck in Ipoh!

Apparently, a row of old shophouses at Fair Park area (I bet it dated back to the days of Yap Ah Loy and Co) collapsed around 945pm on Friday night (2nd October). Immediate theories surfaced on how the recent Sumatran earthquake could have shaken the foundations of the building or how the heavy rains have loosened the old structures

My friend who was involved directly in the incident, JT, had a different tale.

" You know la, friend, they have been trying to demolish the building for years. It was a drug addict lair and an eyesore. Being right next to the main road and frequently flooded, most of the shops have been deserted for ages. It was bound to collapse sooner or later ler. They already cordoned off the buildings past few weeks and the roof and back was taken down for some time d"

As for his near-death experience....

"Aiyoh. It was more painful for my car la..it has left-sided hemiparesis now (damage on one side of the body causing paralysis). I mean, I could move it but poor thing...body almost crumpled leh. I felt the impact in front of me. I mean, 5 seconds, I could have been buried under all that cement and old bricks. I could see the buried cars and some people were screaming and crying...."

As JT was a casualty MO heading to work on Friday night, I asked him about any immediate concerns on disaster management.

"Har? What? Of course I have to get myself away from all the asbestos first lar! Then I called up the people at A & E telling them I can't get to work on time and then I have to continue my work some more....Then I discovered that 2 young men were sent directly to the mortuary while another guy survived."

Quite a sensational from a sleepy little city huh?

Pictures were taken from my handphone camera while driving past the scene of carnage. Shaky images courtesy of the Ah Beng-modified car behind ours.The blame is on him because he honked at my friend's slow driving and therefore I have to take the shot on the move. Aaargh!