KUALA LUMPUR: As the Putra Heights gas pipeline fire incident enters its fifth day, victims who have yet to register at temporary relief centres are advised to do so before the registration closes at noon today.
To date, 509 families have registered at the relief centres, although not all are residing there. The number is expected to increase as some victims were away during the incident, which occurred on the second day of Hari Raya.
The registration process aims to ensure that returning victims are not left out of receiving the assistance previously announced.
The government will also introduce a new assistance category of RM2,500 for tenants, in addition to the RM5,000 for homeowners whose properties were completely destroyed, and RM2,500 for those whose homes were partially damaged, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
As of yesterday, 130 out of the 235 affected homes in Taman Putra Harmoni were declared safe, with residents allowed to return. However, residents of Kampung Sungai Baru have yet to be permitted home as safety clearance is still pending.
In the meantime, Airbnb has stepped in to offer 78 homes for temporary accommodation for up to two months, supplementing the 100 units already pledged by the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS).
The Selangor government is also providing transportation support for school-going children of the affected families. Those needing this service must be present at the relief centres at the Putra Heights Mosque and MBSJ’s Dewan Camelia starting Monday.
Five vehicles from Prasarana and the Selangor Demand-Responsive Transit (DRT) programme will ferry students from the PPS to 34 different schools.
Meanwhile, 30 more affected victims received temporary-use vehicles from car sales company Carro today to assist them with daily activities.
Other forms of aid include household vouchers from Panasonic Malaysia, RM3,000 in cash donations from Berjaya Cares Foundation and Matrix Concepts Holdings Berhad, as well as 50 Perodua Bezza cars made available free for a month by Carsome.
As of this evening, 42 of the 145 victims injured in the fire are still receiving treatment in hospitals.
Of those, 24 are being treated in Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities, including a 65-year-old patient in the ICU of Ampang Hospital with six per cent partial thickness burns and chemical pneumonitis with type II respiratory failure. Another 18 are being treated at private hospitals.
Meanwhile, the Selangor government has given its assurance that the investigation into the incident will be conducted transparently, without protecting any party involved.
Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said that audit teams from both the federal and state governments have been deployed to the Selangor Utility Corridor (KuSel) and the Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) following allegations of negligence on the part of both entities that may have led to the incident.
At the same time, the Fire and Rescue Department said that the final safety assessment of the fire crater and gas explosion site is expected to be completed by tomorrow and will be presented to the Selangor Disaster Management Committee soon.
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.
A total of 87 homes were badly damaged and deemed uninhabitable, while 148 homes sustained damage but are safe to live in after repairs.
