KUALA LUMPUR, April 6 — Five days after the Putra Heights gas pipeline fire, victims who have yet to register at temporary relief centres are advised to do so before registration closes at noon tomorrow.
To date, 509 families have registered at relief centres, though not all live there. The number is set to increase as some victims were away during the incident on the second day of Aidilfitri.
The registration process aims to ensure returning victims are not left out of receiving aid.
The government will introduce a new aid 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 Friday, 130 out of the 235 affected homes in Taman Putra Harmoni were declared safe, with residents allowed to return. However, safety clearance for Kampung Sungai Baru homes is pending.
Meanwhile, Airbnb has offered victims 78 temporary homes for two months, supplementing the 100 units pledged by the Selangor Housing and Property Board.
The state government is also providing transport for affected schoolchildren. Those needing the transport service must be present at the Putra Heights Mosque and Subang Jaya City Council (MBSJ) relief centres (PPS) from tomorrow.
Five vehicles from Prasarana and Selangor’s Demand-Responsive Transit programme will ferry students from the PPS to 34 different schools.
Thirty more victims received temporary-use vehicles from car sales company Carro yesterday.
Other forms of aid include household vouchers from Panasonic Malaysia, RM3,000 in cash donations from Berjaya Cares Foundation, and Matrix Concepts Holdings Bhd, as well as 50 Perodua Bezza cars for free for a month by Carsome.
As of yesterday, 42 of the 145 victims hurt in the fire were being treated in hospital.
Of those, 24 are being treated at Health Ministry facilities, including a 65-year-old patient in the Ampang Hospital intensive care unit with 6 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 assured its investigation into the incident will be conducted transparently, without protecting anyone involved.
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said audit teams from the federal and state governments have been deployed to the Selangor Utility Corridor and the MBSJ following allegations of negligence that may have led to the fire.
The Fire and Rescue Department said the final safety assessment of the gas explosion site is set to be completed by tomorrow and will be presented to the State Disaster Management Committee soon.
The Petronas gas pipeline fire, which broke out at 8.10am on Tuesday, saw flames shooting over 30m 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 are now uninhabitable, while 148 homes were damaged but will be safe after repairs.
— Bernama
