GAS PIPELINE BLAZE: VICTIMS SHARE TERRIFYING ACCOUNTS OF RAGING FIRE

PUTRAJAYA, April 1 (Bernama) -- The second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri will long be etched in the memory of 33-year-old Sharmaine Pan, who suffered the harrowing experience of being a victim of the gas pipeline fire that broke out at Jalan Putra Harmoni, Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor, today.

Sharmaine, who sustained seven per cent first-degree burns on both her calves and abrasions from falling while fleeing the fire, said she heard a strange sound, similar to a tremor, before all hell broke loose.

"We were sleeping when we heard a strange sound. We opened the window to see what had happened and the windows were rattling and then we saw a massive fire raging nearby.

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“We went downstairs but something didn't feel right. So, we decided to get out and just ran for our lives,” she told Bernama when met at the Putrajaya Hospital after receiving treatment for her injuries.

Interior designer Robin Yeoh Jin Ghee, 46, recalled a similar tale of terror, saying he and his wife were resting at home when the drama unfolded.

“Suddenly, around 8 am, the whole house started shaking, like we've been hit by an earthquake. We didn't know it was an explosion. Then, I woke my wife up and we both went downstairs without taking anything.

“We went to the dining hall and hid under the table. The whole house was still shaking. When we tried to go out, we opened the gate and saw a lot of debris falling. We didn’t know what it was - it looked like a meteor or something,” he said when met at the hospital.

He added that when they tried to flee, various objects started falling from above and the outside of his house looked like it had been hit by a tornado.

Since it seemed quite dangerous to be outside, they retreated into their house and took shelter in the study room.

He said the situation grew more tense when part of the back portion of their house collapsed and the surging inferno was visible. Their floor was also flooded due to a broken pipe, and they used wet pieces of cloth to prevent smoke from entering the room.

“We tried to block the smoke from coming in under the door. It went on for quite a while, more than an hour and things weren’t getting any better.

“I tried to go peek outside. The rooftop of our backyard storeroom caught fire. I tried to go up to my room to get my phone and some other things, but I couldn’t. I tried three times (to go up), but it was too risky," he said, adding that the upper portion of their house was destroyed while the ground floor was also badly damaged.

Meanwhile, what was meant to be a peaceful public holiday morning jog took a shocking turn for a 70-year-old man when he was startled by the sight of an enormous fire raging at Jalan Putra Harmoni.

Harban Singh, a resident of USJ 9, Subang Jaya here, said he was out jogging on the second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri at about 8.25 am when the inferno caught his attention.

"I asked my relative, who was next to me, and we initially thought it might be a house fire. But it turned out to be a giant blaze.

"Then I went to the location and found out that it was a fire involving the Petronas gas pipeline," he said when met at the scene.

-- BERNAMA