Student dead, 2 missing after Malaysian bridge collapses (Roundup)

Oct 27, 2009, 11:40 GMT

   Kuala Lumpur - A Malaysian student was dead and two others were still missing Tuesday after a suspension bridge they were walking on collapsed.

   A total of 22 students were thrown into a river in the northern state of Perak late Monday when the bridge tumbled. The students were on a camping trip involving 298 students from 60 schools in the state.

   Three of the students were found to be missing, and rescuers only discovered the deceased, 11-year-old Dina Feve Nathan, early Tuesday after her body was found 2 kilometres downstream from the accident site.

   Police said search efforts were ongoing for the remaining two students, identified as two girls aged 11 and 12.

   The iron-cable bridge had recently been built to replace an older bridge, the Star online news portal said.

   State Chief Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir expressed his condolences to the family of the young student, adding that he had ordered an immediate investigation into the cause of the accident, the official Bernama news agency reported.

   'The suspension bridge was newly built. We want to know if it was built to specifications as it collapsed after a metal pillar got ripped off the ground,' he said.

   Survivors told the Star that some of the students walking on the bridge had started jumping in an attempt to scare the others. The structure collapsed shortly afterwards.

   One of the teachers at the camp said he dove into the river after the accident, but didn't manage to catch hold of any of the three victims, who were swept away by strong currents after holding onto the bridge's cable wires.

   'I managed to pull out three or four pupils. The current was swift and I almost got dragged away,' said Mohamad Safri Abdul Rafar.

   More than 220 officers from the police, rescue department and volunteers have widened the search area for the two missing girls.