Latest: One dead, eight injured when tower on top of UMNO Penang building collapses and crushes seven vehicles

(ABN News) – An evening storm wreaked havoc in Penang today causing the communications tower atop the Umno building in Jalan Macalister here to collapse, leaving one person dead and eight others injured.

Jahir Hussain Sulaiman, 46, the driver of a pick up truck who was seriously injured in the incident later died at the Penang Hospital.

His nephew Azharudeen Mohd Mohideen, 18, told reporters at the hospital’s mortuary at 11.30pm that his uncle had died.

The antenna had collapsed on his vehicle and six other vehicles that were parked below. The rest of the victims only sustained minor injuries.

The communications tower that fell from the top of the UMNO building.

The damage at the top of the UMNO building. The communications tower broke off and fell on to the road below.

Earlier, Penang police chief Datuk Abdul Rahim Hanafi had said the storm caused the the 20-metre high communications tower atop the Umno building in Jalan Macalister here to collapse at around 6.45pm and damaged seven vehicles including the pick up truck.

He said the driver of the pick up truck had been seriously injured.

“In the Timur Laut district, eight areas were affected whereby trees fell but the most serious incident involved the antenna at the Umno building in Jalan Macalister toppling over.

“Two areas in Seberang Perai Tengah were affected, 10 areas in Seberang Perai Utara and one area in the Barat Daya district,” he told reporters at the scene of the disaster at Jalan Macalister tonight.