PUTRA HEIGHTS FIRE: FINAL PIPE SECTION TO BE REMOVED WITHIN A WEEK - POLICE

KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 (Bernama) -- Work to remove the pipeline sections affected by the gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, on April 1 is expected to take another week, said Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan.

He said so far, three sections of pipe totalling 16 metres from the damaged pipeline have been extracted, and efforts are underway to remove the final section, estimated to be five metres long, for analysis.

"For the investigation at ground zero, I estimate we’ll need another week to remove the final section so that the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) can complete its investigation.

"Specifically, DOSH will need to carry out lab analyses with the help of SIRIM for material testing and several other assessments to determine the cause of the explosion. After that, the site will be handed over to Petronas for recovery works, which are expected to take several months," he said.

He was speaking at a press conference after visiting the ground zero site with nearly 50 media personnel this afternoon.

Hussein also said unpredictable weather had complicated the ongoing investigation work at the site.

He noted that over the 28 days of investigation since April 1, it had rained on 20 of those days, disrupting progress at the scene.

“Each time it rains, the investigation work has to be paused, and we need almost half a day to pump out the water collected in the crater before we can resume excavation.

“The unstable soil condition due to rain is another factor slowing down operations,” he said.

He added that the Minerals and Geoscience Department (JMG) would also produce a report to assist DOSH, including soil sampling to assess the ground structure at the site.

Hussein also said authorities had located an excavator reported to have been buried on the day of the fire.

“Roughly, we already know its location, and it is outside the area we are currently digging. Excavating the excavator now would interfere with ongoing work at the centre of ground zero. 

“We can’t dig in several areas at once, so once the pipe analysis and investigations at the centre of ground zero are completed, we will cover that area and then begin excavation at the excavator’s location,” he said.

-- BERNAMA