KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 6): Lafarge Malaysia Bhd has confirmed that three of its workers were killed in a fire at its Rawang cement plant last Friday.

They were identified as 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 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.

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 today that about 500,000 litres of fuel oil, and not over 700,000 litres of diesel as 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 Thierry Legrand, chief executive officer of Lafarge.

“Lafarge Malaysia is working with relevant authorities. A thorough investigation to understand the cause of the incident is ongoing,” he added.

Lafarge’s share price fell by as much as 18 sen or 2.57% to RM6.82, before closing the day at RM6.84.

This brings the company’s market capitalisation to RM5.81 billion, a fall of RM180 million since the fatal incident.

The counter saw 128,400 shares changing hands and  was among the top 10 decliners of the day.