http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/9/28/nation/20110928082918&sec=nation
Four injured in shopping mall blast in Subang
By LOURDES CHARLES
Four people, who were also trapped in the lower ground floor of the shopping complex that also houses a boutique hotel, were rescued by firemen from the Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department.
The 3.45am gas tank explosion that happened at the outlet located on the lower ground floor also damaged two other floors of the complex.
The injured, including a Nepali security guard and a local, who sustained cuts caused by falling shattered glass, were sent to the hospital for treatment.
Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Department station chief Mohd Khairi Daud said firemen from Subang Jaya were assisted by their colleagues from PJ and surrounding areas in evacuating the hotel guests numbering more than 300 people.http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/177066
Empat orang, termasuk dua pengawal keselamatan, cedera ringan dalam satu kejadian letupan di kompleks membeli-belah Empire Gallery, Subang Jaya jam 3.45 awal pagi tadi.
Letupan itu menyebabkan keseluruhan aras bawah kompleks membeli-belah itu mengalami kerosakan teruk, antaranya cermin pecah, dinding bangunan pecah dan lantai retak serta beberapa buah kereta didapati remuk.Beberapa laluan jalan raya menghubungkan kompleks membeli-belah itu ditutup buat sementara waktu oleh pihak berkuasa.
Penghuni apartmen berhampiran dilihat berkumpul di luar perkarangan kompleks membeli-belah dan diarahkan anggota pihak berkuasa mengosongkan kediaman buat sementara waktu kira-kira jam 8.30 pagi tadi.
Kejadian itu turut menyebabkan kerosakan teruk beberapa premis, termasuk rangkaian cafe terkenal dengan bumbung dan kaca beberapa premis lain runtuh dan pecah.
Menteri Besar Selangor, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim dalam Twitternya pagi ini berkata, beliau mendoakan penduduk di kawasan berhampiran selamat.
Setakat ini punca kejadian belum diketahui.
Sementara itu, Pengarah Bomba Selangor, Osman Abdullah berkata jentera bomba pertama sampai kira-kira jam 3.50 pagi.
Menurutnya, setelah sampai dilokasi, berlaku kebakaran di bahagian hadapan melibatkan saluran gas yang dipercayai berpunca dari letupan yang kuat.
"Kami menerima laporan daripada pengawal keselamatan bangunan, terdapat dua orang mangsa pengawal keselamatan berbangsa Nepal terperangkap di bahagian aras bawah (basement) mengalami cedera ringan.
"Manakala dua orang awam berjaya diselamatkan dan mengalami cedera ringan kemudiannya diserahkan kepada pihak ambulans," katanya.
Menurutnya, setelah sampai dilokasi, berlaku kebakaran di bahagian hadapan melibatkan saluran gas yang dipercayai berpunca dari letupan yang kuat."Kami menerima laporan daripada pengawal keselamatan bangunan, terdapat dua orang mangsa pengawal keselamatan berbangsa Nepal terperangkap di bahagian aras bawah (basement) mengalami cedera ringan.
"Manakala dua orang awam berjaya diselamatkan dan mengalami cedera ringan kemudiannya diserahkan kepada pihak ambulans," katanya.
Sementara itu, menurut Berita Harian Online, Ketua Polis Daerah Subang, ACP Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar, berkata punca kejadian masih disiasat dan laporan terkini akan dikeluarkan pasukan bomba serta Jabatan Keselamatan dan Kesihatan Pekerjaan (DOSH).Beliau berkata, letupan di bahagian bawah bangunan itu mengakibatkan cermin bangunan pecah membabitkan tiga kedai makan.
"Dua daripada mangsa adalah warga asing yang bekerja sebagai pengawal keselamatan di situ manakala dua lagi rakyat tempatan.
"Semua mangsa dihantar ke Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM) untuk mendapatkan rawatan," katanya.
Menurut saksi, Daryl Chua, 27, (kanan) ketika kejadian berlaku, dia bersama teman wanitanya sedang menuju ke mesin bayaran tiket letak kereta.Ketika sampai di mesin tersebut, katanya, tiba-tiba dia terdengar bunyi 'letupan' dan terus rebah ke lantai.
"Saya terpaksa memapah teman wanita saya yang longlai dan tidak berdaya, keluar dari kompleks membeli-belah tersebut, kira-kira tiga minit selepas kejadian berlaku," katanya ketika menceritakan detik cemas itu.
Pada masa yang sama, dia ternampak beberapa orang awam dan pengawal keselamatan bertempiaran lari menyelamatkan diri
"Nasib baik saya dan teman wanita tidak cedera serius, saya hanya luka kecil di tangan manakala kereta rosak teruk," katanya.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/explosion-rips-through-empire-gallery-four-hurt/
Explosion rips through Empire Gallery, four hurt
UPDATED @ 01:52:18 PM 28-09-2011
September 28, 2011
A view of Empire Gallery Subang after an explosion early this morning ripped through a large portion of the mall. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Eyewitnesses described a scene of chaos, with police, ambulances and the fire brigade still on the scene.
Police tracker dogs were also present, as were Fire and Rescue Department personnel from stations across Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, Damansara and Puchong to investigate the incident.
Subang Jaya OCPD ACP Zainal Rashid Abu Bakar told reporters at the scene that the blast was believed to have started in the basement and involved a gas pipeline.
“We have yet to determine the cause of the blast but damage is extensive, affecting the parking lot and many outlets on the basement level and even the ground floor,” he said.
“Our forensics team is still investigating. We have not been able to enter certain parts of the mall . . . the damage is too bad and the areas are sealed off.”
He confirmed that a distress call was received at 3.45am concerning the explosion at the mall, which is at the entrance of Subang Jaya from the Federal Highway.
Zainal Rashid added that four people — two security guards and a Chinese couple — were injured during the blast, sustaining minor scrapes and bruises.
Rescue workers are still combing the basement in search of more possible victims.
The two guards were initially trapped in the basement, but have since been rescued and sent to a hospital to treat their injuries. They were identified as K. Surendra Kris, 33, and Chrring Dawak Sepa, from Nepal.
The couple, sales executives Daryl Chua, 27, and his girlfriend Hibbie Tan, 23, were taken to hospital in an ambulance but have since been discharged.
Nearly the entire stretch of the front portion of the newly-built mall was blown out, damaging a number of cafes, restaurants and clothing stores including Tangs and Starbucks Coffee.
Chua told reporters that he was walking with his girlfriend to an parking payment station a few steps from Starbucks when the explosion occurred about 3.30am.
“We were at La Bodega earlier for dinner and then we were just hanging out outside my car and talking," he said.
“Just as we were heading to the Autopay, there was a loud ‘boom’, like in the movies. I thought it was a bomb.”
Chua said he was “literally lifted off the ground” and thrown sideways several metres from the blast, lightly grazing both his arms.
The sound of breaking glass, falling debris and metal, and sirens broke the earlier silence, he said, leaving him in a momentary state of confusion and panic.
“And then the flames came up. It was all over, the entire front of the mall was razed. I thought I was going to die,” he said.
When the scene calmed slightly, Chua said he carried Tan, who had sprained her leg, to safety and noticed passers-by and nearby residents rushing to the scene.
His car, a black Volkswagen Golf GTI, was severely damaged.
Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim tweeted this morning and prayed for the safety of the residents nearby.
Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh was also there, he added.
The shopping mall opened last year.
Yeoh told The Malaysian Insider she scrambled to get there after receiving a message on the Twitter micro-blogging service around 3am.
“The four injured have been taken to the hospital,” she said. "One broke his leg, apparently."
“The damage [to the building] is extensive. All of the lower floor all the way up to the second floor.”
The cause of the explosion was still not known, she said.
The police have sealed off the area, causing traffic jams in the vicinity during the morning rush hour.
pictures credits to cari.com.my ,thestar.com.my, malaysiakini.com,themalaysianinsider.com and Goh Chien Hui
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