KUALA LUMPUR - MOTORISTS trying to get to the Malaysian resort
island of Penang for the country's busy holiday weekend on Saturday
were stuck in 4km tailbacks when its iconic bridge caught fire.
Local official Lim Hock Seng told AFP a power cable under the
13.5km bridge caught fire at 0240 GMT (10.40am Singapore time) on
the second day of the busy Eid al-Fitr holiday.
He said many revellers crossing the bridge, one of the longest
in the world, to visit family and friends were delayed as one of
the toll bridge's three lanes had to be shut.
'There is a lot of black smoke coming from under the bridge as
the cable is still burning and is not accessible from the top side
so we are waiting for fireboats to arrive and put out the flames,'
he said.
Mr Lim, the state public works and transportation committee
chairman, said there was no danger to the structure of the bridge
and it was still safe for traffic.
'The power cable caused a five-minute power cut to the island
but the power has be rerouted and supply has been fully restored to
the island,' Mr Lim added of Penang, which is styled as Malaysia's
'Silicon Valley' and home to the manufacturing operations of
electronic giants like Intel and Sony.
-- AFP
