By Sofia Nasir
SUBANG JAYA, April 6 — Excavation works to replace a sewage pipe near the Putra Heights gas pipeline, where a leak caused a massive fire on Tuesday, showed no clear link between the project and the incident.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said early investigations found that the gas pipeline was 5.6m under the road, 1.6m from the sewage pipe.
“The excavation and replacement was done along about 30m and is expected to continue. The road across the Petronas gas pipeline is an approved one.
“Excavation was done by Petronas, Works Department, Survey and Mapping Department, Occupational Safety and Health Department, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Pengurusan Air Selangor, and contractors, and monitored by police,” he said.
“We are investigating the cause of the blast from every angle. The Occupational Safety and Health Department will investigate from a safety and health aspect while other agencies will play their respective roles.
“We have not classified this case under any category. The report on initial investigations will be issued on April 15,” he added.
[caption id="attachment_396357" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan speaks at a press conference at the command post for the April 1 gas pipeline blast, in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, on April 6, 2025. — Picture by MOHD KHAIRUL HELMY MOHD DIN/MEDIA SELANGOR[/caption]
Hussein was speaking at a press conference at an incident command post here today. Also present were state Fire and Rescue Department director Wan Razali Wan Ismail.
Hussein also confirmed a statement from a witness who claimed they saw fireworks near the incident site the night before the fire broke out.
He said the witness was among 118 people whose statements were recorded, and that police are not investigating the use of firecrackers as the main cause of the gas pipeline blast.
“There are some who said they saw people playing with firecrackers on the night of March 31, but police do not view it as a cause. We are waiting for the full investigation, and welcome information from the public,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Petronas gas pipeline on Jalan Putra Harmoni here exploded and ignited an inferno of over 30m high, which took eight hours to extinguish.
The fire affected 1,254 victims from 308 families, with 87 homes destroyed and deemed uninhabitable and 148 damaged but safe after repairs.
The blast left behind a nearly 10m-deep crater about 500sqm in area.
