[UPDATE]: The two victims who were more seriously injured when a tree fell on Jalan Ampang this morning have been identified as a newlywed husband and wife, according to Harian Metro.
Twenty-five-year-old Mira Ezva Abdul Rasid, and her 37-year-old husband Norazrul Ahmad had just held their wedding reception in Cheras Sunday night and were on their way to work when the incident happened. It was their first time using the route, as Mira had just been transferred to a new work location.
“It happened so fast – the tree in front of us fell suddenly. My husband could not brake in time and we crashed into it,” she told the paper.
Her husband is still unconscious from the accident, while Mira is grateful just to be alive.
A massive tree collapsed today in KLCC, right in the shadow of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, our city’s most widely recognized tourist attraction. The area is home to thousands of our city’s office workers, and the accident resulted in Monday morning commuter traffic along Jalan Ampang coming to a gridlock.
Tragically, two were injured when the tree suddenly uprooted itself in clear, and sunny weather, and came crashing down onto the road at approximately 7:30am. Another man reported to have minor scrapes from the incident.
The less serious victim, a gentleman, was in his car when the tree fell, and sustained head injuries. He has been identified as Ong Chee Fook, 64, and gave a statement to Utusan Online saying that it occurred “out of nowhere” when he had stopped at the traffic lights.
The other two victims, were driving along Jalan Ampang, and were knocked unconscious by the accident. They are all currently being treated at the nearby Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
A video detailing the aftermath shows the unconscious woman, and the sheer size of the uprooted tree has been circulated online by various individuals and media organizations.
DBKL posted to their Twitter account that the road was currently being cleared, and alerted commuters that the lane going from Sultan Ismail to Avenue K was currently unusable.
There has been no word on why the tree fell, as such occurrences are a rarity, and are limited to severe weather conditions.
Coconuts KL sends our sincerest wishes for the two victims for a speedy recovery, and to the rest of us – we’re not safe, ever, anywhere.
