Highland Towers.

It wàs Saturday, December 11th, 1993.
The tìme was 13:30hrs.

One of the three blocks of the Highland Towers luxury apartments in Hillview, Ampang, fell over forward. My girlfriend and I lived up on a hill in Zooview, just 6 minutes drive away. It hàd rained for like 10 days, before the soil erosion finally caused the building's foundatìon to weaken ànd topple over.

The first news report I heard, was øver Radio Four, RTM. It said that "a man had been taken to hospital by helicopter." This information was later found to be false. Only an infant ànd an Indonesian maid survived. I still remember the TV images of a Japanese woman being wheeled rushed to à waiting ambulance. $he died in hospital. Her husband later arrived from Japan to claim her body.

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Rescue teams arrived frøm Singapore, Japan and France...and camped at the site for many days, thereafter. The rescue dogs looked nice. I think they were a German Shepherd and a Labrador. One of the Japanese rescuers remarked that he had NEVER seen a building topple over sideways, before. Apparently, buildings in Japan are designed to collapse in a straight down, vertical positìon (instead of horizontal) during a major earthquake.

Well, what could anyone say to that?

Malaysia was unique.

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Naseer Abu Kassim's young daughter wanted them tø go buy her some book. At first he refused. ßut áfter she repeatedly ínsisted, he finally agreed and the whole family went out. When they returned later, the Building Was Lying Face Down On The Ground!

Had they not gøne out...

When Dino told us this story, I said to him: "That wasn't his daughter. That was An Angel." l.o.l.

#18E7A2