KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 12 — Nine people, including four students, were injured in an air-conditioning compressor explosion at a private university in Bukit Damansara today.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said the police received an emergency call at 11.40am regarding the explosion, which occurred in a maintenance area located next to the cafeteria on the fourth floor of the university building.
“Initial investigations found that an air-conditioning compressor exploded, and as a result, nine victims were involved, some seriously injured.
“The injuries varied, including burns and injuries caused by flying debris, as the explosion was strong enough to damage the walls in the affected area,” he said during a media conference at the scene.
Fadil added that all the victims were taken to several nearby hospitals for further treatment, including the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), the Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), and the Sungai Buloh Hospital, where they were separated according to the severity of their injuries.
Besides the four injured students, the other five victims comprised two external contractor workers called in to carry out air-conditioning repair works, a university management staff member, and two foreign nationals working at the cafeteria.
He noted that the area was fortunately not crowded with students when the incident occurred, as many were still on holiday.
The Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), together with the Hazmat team, conducted a thorough inspection to ensure the area was completely safe and to prevent any risk of a secondary explosion.
“JBPM has confirmed that the area is fully safe and investigations are ongoing,” Fadil said.
Prior to the incident, the university management had called in technicians following technical problems detected in the air-conditioning system, but repair works had not yet begun.
He said that 38 firefighters were involved in today’s operation, including the Fire Forensics team, Hazmat unit, and personnel from nearby stations.
