PUTRAJAYA: Sharmaine Pan will never forget what occurred on Tuesday (April 1) morning when a gas pipeline ruptured, resulting in a huge inferno at Jalan Putra Harmoni, Putra Heights in Subang Jaya.
The 33-year-old, who sustained first-degree burns on her calves and abrasions after she fell fleeing the fire, said she heard something that sounded like a tremor before all hell broke loose.
"We were sleeping when we heard the sound. The windows were rattling … then we saw a massive fire raging nearby.
"We went downstairs but something didn't feel right. So we decided to get out and just run for our lives," she told Bernama when met at the Putrajaya Hospital where she is receiving treatment for her injuries.
Interior designer Robin Yeoh Jin Ghee, 46, recalled a similar tale of terror, saying he and his wife were at home when the drama unfolded.
"At around 8am, the whole house started shaking – like we were hit by an earthquake. We didn't know it was an explosion. I woke my wife up and we both went downstairs without taking anything.
"We went to the dining hall and hid under the table. The whole house was still shaking. When we tried to go out, we opened the gate and saw debris raining down. We didn't know what it was – it looked like a meteor or something," he said when met at the hospital.
He said the area outside house looked like it had been hit by a tornado and when they tried to flee, objects started falling down from the sky.
As it seemed dangerous to be out in the open, they retreated into their house to take shelter.
However, he said part of the back of their house collapsed and they could see the inferno. Their floor was also flooded due to a broken pipe and they used wet fabric to prevent smoke from entering the room.
"We tried to block the smoke from coming in under the door. It went on for quite a while – more than an hour – and things weren't getting any better.
"I tried to peek outside but our backyard storeroom rooftop was on fire. I tried three times to go up to my room to get my phone and other things but it was too risky," he said, adding that the upper portion of their house was destroyed while the ground floor was badly damaged. – Bernama
