Sabah,Malaysia:friday>
There was a massive ‘Blackout‘ in the eastern State of Sabah on friday. The cause of the power failure was found out shortly as villagers who lived near a power transmission tower complained of a falling tower.
The high price of scrap metal that followed the high demand for steel was too tempting for some people that they did not think twice about the dangers of electrical transmission towers.
The tower which was 15 meters in height was weakened as some of its beams, nuts and bolts were stolen. When the Sabah Electricity Board workers arrived at the scene they found out that twenty iron beams were missing. These beams held the tower in place and when they are taken away the tower collapsed.
Ninety percent of the state’s consumers were affected. Power supply was only restored about two hours later. No casualty was reported.
The price of scrap metal in the local market is about 60 cents per kilogramme. The stolen items must have weighed about 100 kilogrammes. The thieves did not make that much as the work of dismantling and carting away those beams must be also very heavy.
This is not the first instance that easy cash drove some people to scale towers such as those. Communication towers were also fair game these days.
As a preventive measure, the authorities are also making random ckecks on scrap metal dealers The results, however, are mixed.