SEPANG: The police and Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) reports on the gas pipeline fire in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, on April 1 are expected to be released by the end of next month.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the police investigation, which also looked into elements of negligence or sabotage, has been completed.
“We are still waiting for DOSH to complete their investigation. The police and agencies such as the Public Works Department and Petronas have assisted them in retrieving the necessary specimens.
“So now we are waiting for further analysis from DOSH, which involves laboratory analysis using various techniques on the pipe specimens taken from the site,“ he told a press conference here today.
He said at least five pipe specimens had been retrieved for further investigation or analysis by DOSH, while other technical investigation agencies such as the Minerals and Geoscience Department had also completed the collection of their required samples.
“They (the parties involved in the investigation) will carry out the analysis, and only then will they be able to determine the causes of the explosion,“ he said, adding that the ground zero site had been handed over to Petronas for recovery works.
Asked if the excavator reported to have been buried following the gas pipeline explosion had been recovered, he said the police had located it but the machine had not yet been retrieved.
“We will remove the excavator once the recovery works at ground zero are complete. Earlier, we focused on the area with pipelines, we could not proceed simultaneously as it could cause the area to collapse.
“Now that the pipeline area has been dealt with, and once Petronas has completed the recovery works there, the investigation team will move to the area where the excavator is buried.
“We cannot totally ignore the excavator, and we will carry out further investigations once we retrieve it, but it is not a priority in the investigation at this time,“ he said.
