Malaysia gas pipeline fire victims suffer serious burns

Inferno near Malaysia's Putra Heights

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PETALING JAYA - When the sliding doors and windows of his double-storey house started shaking violently, Mr Aidil Abd Ghafar thought an aftershock from the Myanmar earthquake had hit Malaysian soil.

He stepped out of his Putra Avenue house to check — only to have a blast of heat hit his face. He saw a towering blaze about 400m away, and he realised that the intense heat and tremors had come from the fire.

Fire officials said the massive fire triggered by a gas pipeline leak forced residents to flee their homes and injured more than 100 people during Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations on the outskirts of Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, in Puchong, a town in Selangor, on April 1.

A total of 237 homes were affected, resulting in 305 victims displaced, with some moved to temporary relief centres set up at a nearby mosque.

Mr Aidil said he saw people who lived closer to the fire site being scorched by the heat.

At his house, the 57-year-old said, the heat melted items made of plastic and rubber, including those in his car.

"We could take nothing with us," said Mr Aidil, who was resting with his family on the second day of Hari Raya before the fire forced them to evacuate.

"We have six cats, I managed to take only one along while the rest were left behind.

"We saw people who lived closer to the fire site. Some were singed while others were scorched, and they were scurrying to safety with injuries.