Blackout in M’sia forces office workers to take stairs down from 106th floor

Blackout hits Malaysia high-rise, office workers take stairs from as high as 106th floor

The stairwells of skyscrapers are often overlooked, but on 15 Oct, they became the only way out for office workers in Malaysia when a massive blackout forced some to walk down from as high as the 106th floor.

Videos of the long and exhausting descent went viral online, showing the staircases of The Exchange 106 in Kuala Lumpur packed with people making their way down on foot after the building’s lifts stopped working.

The massive blackout yesterday forced employees in TRX to walk down the stairs from the 106th floor.
byu/RhinneXChronica inmalaysia

Workers take the stairs on skyscraper after power outage

In the clips, crowds can be seen descending floor after floor inside The Exchange 106, the landmark tower at Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).

Many appeared to be drenched in sweat as they made the rare journey down the tower’s emergency stairwell after power to the lifts was cut.

Source: Reddit

According to Nanyang Siang Pau, the videos first surfaced on Xiaohongshu, where TRX workers shared their experiences.

Some compared the ordeal to “joining a fire drill”, while others joked that the unexpected trek fulfilled their “entire year’s exercise quota”.

Source: Reddit

A few also recounted being trapped in lifts for up to 30 minutes before being rescued.

Power outage caused by incident at power plant

In a statement issued at 5.05pm on 15 Oct, Malaysia’s national utility company Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) confirmed that the blackout was linked to an incident at the Edra Power Plant in Melaka.

According to Malay Mail, the large-scale outage affected parts of the Klang Valley, as well as Johor Bahru, Kluang, Melaka, Ipoh, and Kuantan.

TNB said its technical teams were working to restore electricity to affected areas in stages and apologised for the inconvenience caused.

In a follow-up Facebook post, the company announced that power had been fully restored at 5.54pm, thanking customers for their patience and understanding.

Also read: Fiery glow seen across S’pore on 15 Oct night allegedly caused by refinery flaring in Johor 

Fiery glow seen across S’pore on 15 Oct night allegedly caused by refinery flaring in Johor 

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Featured image adapted from Reddit.