KUALA LUMPUR: Lafarge Malaysia Bhd's shares took a beating today after news broke out that three of its workers died in a fire at its Rawang cement plant last Friday.
Today, Lafarge’s share price fell 18 sen or 2.57 per cent to RM6.82, before closing the day at RM6.84. It is among the top 10 decliners on Bursa Malaysia.
In a statement today, Lafarge said the bodies of the three Malaysians were recovered from the fire-damaged oil tank, after an all-night search and recovery (SAR) operation was conducted till Saturday evening.
They were Mohd Ziehafizan Abd Rahman, 28, Zamri Adenan, 35, and Baskaran Thanakodil, 49. The three were undertaking minor maintenance works at the time of the incident.
In the 4.15pm incident, a fuel tank at the cement plant had caught fire. The Fire and Rescue Department was on site within 10 minutes, and the blaze was snuffed out shortly after. Three workers were then reportedly missing.
A company spokesperson clarified about 500,000 litres of fuel oil, and not over 700,000 litres of diesel, as previously reported, were drained from the fuel tank during the SAR operation.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and our immediate priority is our employees and their families,” said Lafarge chief executive officer Thierry Legrand.
“Lafarge Malaysia is working with relevant authorities. A thorough investigation to understand the cause of the incident is ongoing,” he added.
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