The Highland Towers tragedy, 27 years on. Here's what you need to know

THE Highland Towers tragedy that happened 27 years ago is the worst high-rise building collapse in the nation’s history.

Minister of Housing and Local Government Ministry Zuraida Kamaruddin, in an interview with Bernama TV yesterday, said there are plans to build a memorial at the site, in remembrance of the incident which killed 48 residents on Dec 11, 1993.

The memorial will be surrounded by a small park and walking track. She said the ministry was awaiting approval of an allocation of RM8.9 million for land acquisition from the Selangor government. The proposal to redevelop the land as a park was first floated in 2018.

READ MORE: KPKT plans to build memorial at Highland Towers site - Zuraida

Here’s what you need to know about the tragedy:

• Highland Towers is located at Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang Selangor. It consists of three blocks 12 story high apartments, named Block 1, 2, and 3 respectively.
• They were built on a terraced hill, between 1975 and 1978.
• The apartments were home to locals and expatriates.

What happened to the Towers?

• At about 1.30pm, merely 10 days of torrential rain, Block 1 collapsed, burying the building’s occupants under tons of debris;
• Over 500 rescue workers, including from Singapore, Japan, France, UK and the US worked around the clock in a desperate race against time to find survivors, despite safety concerns over the stability of the two other towers;
• Within the first 24 hours, only three survivors were pulled out of the rubble. Indonesians Umi Rasyidah Koiruman, 22 and her toddler Nur Hamidah Nadjib survived the ordeal. But Japanese national Shizue Nakajima, 50, succumbed to her injuries; and
• The search for survivors ended at 3pm, Dec 17 after no signs of life. The search ended on Dec 22 after 48 bodies were found.

READ MORE: Highland Towers tragedy survivor Nur Hamidah Nadjib meets rescue workers after 23 years

• Residents from Block 2 and 3 were evacuated immediately after the tower collapsed. The apartments were reportedly looted even with the presence of the security forces;
• Malaysia declared the incident as a national tragedy;
• Six months after the collapse, a memorial service was held at the site on 11 June 1994. A plaque was erected in the honor of those who died; and
• The remains of Block 2 and Block 3 were restricted from public access. Looting and vandalism continued over the years. Nearby residents reported that the remaining towers became a haven for criminals and drug addicts.

What caused the collapse of Block 1?

• There are many causes behind the Highland Tower incident but what is known is that the tower collapsed from a major landslide, caused by heavy rains that burst diversion pipes;
• Was it a tragedy waiting to happen? In 1991, construction for the Bukit Antarabangsa Development Project began. This new development, located behind the Highland Towers, is believed to have caused massive clearing of trees and ground cover;
• Water reportedly started seeping into this new construction site. So, a pipe system was built to divert the water into an existing pipe system, also used to divert river water away from the Highland Towers;
• So, this pipe system became overloaded with water, including sand, and silt from the construction site. Coupled with prolonged heavy rain in Dec 1993, the pipes burst at several locations around the hill, causing muddy soil; and
• A landslide began. An estimated 100,000 square meters of mud slides downhill, destroying retaining walls around Block 1 and subsequently weakening the tower’s foundation that led to its collapse.

What was the aftermath?

• On Dec 20, 1993, the government decided to freeze new hillsslope projects’ approval. That temporary ban was lifted on June 23, 1994;
• There were plans to fix Block 2 and Block 3. However, further inspections showed that they were structurally unstable;
• On 15 Oct, 1994, six residents filed a lawsuit against the developers of Highland Tower and eight other related parties, including AmBank and Ampang Jaya Municipal Council, for negligence; and
• On 2 June 2004, the case was settled out of court after AmBank agreed to pay RM52 million to 139 residents and unit owners in Highland Towers. They also relinquished their right over their properties in the complex.

READ MORE: Bukit Antarabangsa residents worried repeat of Highland Towers tragedy