GAS PIPELINE FIRE: VICTIMS APPEAL FOR BASIC NECESSITIES

KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 (Bernama) -- Apart from initial medical aid, families of the victims of this morning’s gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, are appealing for essential supplies such as clothing and food.

A family member of one of the victims, Mohd Rusman Mohamad Nasir, said most of the victims’ homes were completely destroyed, leaving them with no time to save any personal belongings.

“The zakat authorities, the Sri Serdang state assemblyman’s office, and a fast-food company (McDonald’s) have provided initial aid at Masjid Nurul Iman and Masjid Putra Heights, including medical assistance. But if we could also get clothing and undergarments, that would help,” he told Bernama at Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang.

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Meanwhile, Rohanawati Ismail, the mother of one of the victims, said her eldest child, 28, had managed to call her when the fire broke out.

“She called to tell me the house was on fire and that the flames were coming from the kitchen, not from a gas cylinder, but from the gas pipeline. At that moment, they only had time to run out with nothing but the clothes on their back,” she said, also expressing hope for assistance with basic necessities.

An Indonesian victim, Rusman Abdul Samad, who was at the hospital accompanying an injured friend, described the heat during the incident as unbearable.

“I thought a plane was flying overhead because the noise was loud, like an aircraft engine, but when I stepped outside, I saw massive flames from a gas leak,” he said.

Meanwhile, Masayuan Takbir, 38, who was met after receiving treatment at the Emergency and Trauma Department of Putrajaya Hospital, told Bernama she was still traumatised by the incident.

She said she had to flee with her two children while her husband was at work at the time.

“Without thinking about anything else, I rushed out of the house with my two children, aged nine and two, through the back door in the kitchen, fearing that the situation could worsen,” she said, adding that she was barefoot as she escaped.

“As I was running, my child’s asthma medication fell, and I had to go back to retrieve it despite the intense heat. My second child suffered severe burns, with flesh visible on his arm.

“At that moment, I felt like I was going to die, but my child told me to recite prayers. Those words gave me the strength to keep going,” she said.

-- BERNAMA