KUCHING: A 37-year-old man lost his life after being trapped in a stone grinding machine at an industrial estate owned by Ibraco along Jalan Express Way this morning.
The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) said they received an emergency call about the tragic incident at 9.40am.
According to the department’s report, a team from the Kota Sentosa Fire and Rescue Station (BBP) led by PBK II Ramzai Talip was immediately dispatched to the scene. Upon arrival, rescuers found the local man trapped inside the fan compartment of the industrial stone grinding machine.
“The operations team conducted an initial assessment and attempted to unscrew the nut on the machine’s fan to free the victim, but were unsuccessful,” the statement said.
The report added that the operations commander then instructed his team, along with several factory workers, to push the fan mechanism manually. After more than an hour of effort, the victim was successfully freed from the machine at 11.33am.
Unfortunately, medical personnel from the Ministry of Health (MOH) who were present at the scene confirmed that the victim had died due to severe injuries.
The victim’s body was later handed over to the police for further investigation and action.
The rescue operation involved six personnel from JBPM using one Fire Rescue Tender (FRT) vehicle. No other injuries were reported in the incident.
Authorities are expected to carry out further investigations to determine the cause of the incident and whether safety procedures were adequately followed at the site.
This tragic case serves as a reminder of the importance of workplace safety, especially in high-risk industrial environments where heavy machinery is used daily.
