KUALA LUMPUR, April 2 — “She wanted to give up already… but the children dragged her out,” said Alex Khoo, recalling how his sister escaped from yesterday’s gas pipeline blaze at her home in Putra Heights, Subang Jaya.
Khoo Poh Lai, 72, who suffered burns on her legs, was reluctant to move due to the severe pain and was running barefoot on the scorching road when her children pulled her to safety. Her house is located just 100 metres from the explosion site.
The 82-year-old described the intensity of the heat from the fire as so extreme that even rubber slippers could melt.
[caption id="attachment_395821" align="alignright" width="520"]
Petaling Jaya resident Alex Khoo, 82, speaks to the press at the Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang on April 1, 2025. His sister Khoo Poh Lai, 72, was one of the residents near the site of the Putra Heights gas pipeline fire in Subang Jaya on April 1, suffering burns on her legs as she escaped from the inferno with her family. — Picture by BERNAMA[/caption]
Poh Lai, who was at home with her husband and children at the time of the incident, is now receiving treatment in a hospital ward, while her husband remains in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) due to severe smoke inhalation.
“She is okay. She is walking around with bandages on her legs because they were burned from running on the hot road,” he told the press while waiting to meet his sister at the Sultan Idris Shah Hospital in Serdang today.
Alex, who lives in Petaling Jaya, said his sister and her family lost everything in the fire, which engulfed their home, cars, and all their belongings before they had a chance to save anything.
So far, he said there is no confirmed date for her discharge, but he anticipates it will not be too long as her injuries are not critical.
Alex also welcomed the government’s decision to provide immediate financial aid to the victims, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday, saying it was essential to help those who had lost everything.
“I think that is good. That is what they need. Because they lost their house.
"They lost everything. The fire spread so fast,” he said, also voicing concerns over safety regulations governing the proximity of residential areas to gas pipelines.
— Bernama
