PUTRA HEIGHTS GAS BLAST: FINAL DAMAGE ASSESSMENT DONE

KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 (Bernama) -- Six days after a gas pipeline explosion and fire rocked Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, the final physical assessment of affected homes was completed this morning.

Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director-general Datuk Nor Hisham Mohammad said the results of the assessment will be presented to the relevant authorities later this afternoon.

At the crater site formed by the explosion, the current focus is on removing accumulated rainwater to allow safety inspections to resume.

According to Nor Hisham, the assessment of the crater is expected to take more time as it involves coordination between JBPM and several external agencies.

Private company MSA Safety is also assisting operations by providing more than 10 gas detection devices, enabling emergency teams to safely enter the site and conduct a detailed investigation.

Meanwhile, students from higher learning institutions, including public universities, polytechnics, and community colleges, who were affected by the incident will be allowed to attend classes online when the academic session resumes tomorrow.

As of 12 noon today, a total of 375 victims from 96 families remain at the temporary relief centre at the Putra Heights Mosque.

A press conference with the latest updates on the incident is expected to be held at 4pm today by Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan at the Incident Control Post.

The Petronas gas pipeline fire, which broke out at 8.10 am on Tuesday, saw flames shooting over 30 metres high, with temperatures reaching 1,000°C. It took nearly eight hours to fully extinguish the blaze.

The explosion left 87 homes completely destroyed and uninhabitable, while another 148 suffered varying degrees of damage but remain livable after undergoing repairs.

-- BERNAMA