Dozens of people in Malaysia were being treated in hospitals on Tuesday after a huge fire exploded in a gas pipeline operated by the Petronas state energy giant, showering debris in flames of the sky and destroying windows.
The authorities said the fire in the city of Puchong on the outskirts of the capital, Kuala Lumpur, had extinguished in the middle of the afternoon. They said that at least 305 people were affected, including those who were homeless after some 190 houses were damaged.
No deaths were reported and the Minister of Health said that those admitted to the hospital were in a stable condition.
State News Agency Bernama Said 145 people had received hospital treatment and 41 had been discharged, citing data from the Ministry of Health. They were treated for burns, other injuries and respiratory problems, state authorities said.
The fire began early on Tuesday with an imposing orange flame and a undulating smoke that could be seen on the horizon from far away, according to the first images in the media and the images shared on social networks.
Witnesses in evacuation centers described chaos scenes that began with an explosion.
“The fire is really high. And once you can see debris, you are talking about debris that are still on fire, it began to fall through the whole place, that is (when) we know that something bad has happened,” said Raja Hilmy Bin Raja Idris, 59, whose house was one kilometer from the fire.
‘Red Glow moving’
Evian Wee, 50, said he initially thought he had hit a tornado or an earthquake.
“I saw a red brightness moving … I kept listening to things falling: glass, stones, all crashing. All the windows were shattered,” he said.
“It began with the explosion, then the windows began to tremble violently. It was then that we realized that it was an explosion that led to the fire.”
Petronas said previously that he had isolated the pipe and that he was working closely with all the relevant parties to guarantee the safety of the surrounding community, the environment and the safety of gas supply to the country.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, said that the state government and Petronas would assume all the responsibility of restoring the area, adding that the process could take a year.
“It will take some time to determine the cause. There is an exhaustive investigation. Our priority is now security. Until now it seems controlled,” he said, added that those affected would receive financial assistance in the interim.
