September 19, 2024
GEORGE TOWN – A father and daughter from China were crushed to death when strong winds toppled a thick clump of ornamental bamboo and sacred fig trees growing out of a wall that then crashed onto their car.
The wall as well as the dense roots and earth almost flattened the car roof.
The man was seated behind, while the woman was in the front passenger seat at the compound of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion in Lebuh Gereja where they toured yesterday.
The daughter was identified as Liu Xin Xin, 36, while no details were available on her father.
Two unoccupied parked cars were also damaged in the incident.
The driver, a local woman who wanted to be named only as Har, 52, sustained bruises.
A two-minute, 24-second security video footage captured the tragedy and went viral.
It showed how the trio ended their tour of the mansion with Har, clad in a red T-shirt, entering the car at 1.26pm and gesturing to the father and daughter to get in too.
Liu, who wore a white dress, was seen snapping a last photo of the mansion on her handphone before the duo entered the car.
The car waited for about 40 seconds, according to the time stamp of the security footage, before leaving the parking spot as another car was moving into the compound through the single-lane gate.
Moments before the incident, the footage showed the tree branches and leaves shaking intensely due to strong winds.
Firefighters took three hours to retrieve the bodies of the father-daughter duo from the wreckage.
Both were confirmed dead when their bodies were retrieved at about 5pm.
Har said: “We were about to leave and find somewhere to eat. But there was an incoming car so I waited.”
“Suddenly, trees came crashing down. I could only honk for help,” she said in between sobs, recalling that Liu held her hand and seemed to be still alive after the tragedy struck.
A worker at the mansion, who did not want to be named, said the ornamental bamboo and sacred figs had been growing for almost 20 years.
“We (had) complained to the owner of the neighbouring building about the issue,” he said.
Fire and Rescue Department north-east district officer Mohammad Syafiq Noor Azman, who led the operation, said bad weather and limited space at the mansion’s parking space posed a challenge in rescue work with 40 rescuers involved.
Penang Island City Council mayor Datuk A. Rajendran, who went to the scene, said an investigation had started.
“Although this is a private property, a probe will be conducted,” he said.
Rajendran said the council felled 86 trees that were found to be unhealthy this year.
“It is estimated that a total of 54 trees will be cut down in Jalan Kelawai, Jalan Burma, Jalan Utama, Jalan Perak and Jalan Macalister soon.
“They were among a total of 1,321 trees that have been inspected. This year, we spent RM4.3mil to carry out maintenance on 13,995 trees along roadsides,” he said.
Elsewhere in Penang, 16 locations reported trees falling, mainly in George Town, Tanjung Bungah and Air Itam.