SUBANG JAYA: The excavation works at the site of the gas pipeline fire in Jalan Putra Harmoni was carried out with official approval, police have revealed –but whether it contributed to the incident remains under scrutiny.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan (pic) said investigations confirmed that contractors adhered to authorised depths – digging up to 2.1m with a trench width of 1.5m.
It was previously reported that earthworks were being conducted to replace an existing sewage pipe located approximately 30m from the point of the explosion.
“As far as I can say for now, the works were conducted within the approved limits. Whether or not that could have led to a disturbance of the pipeline still needs to be investigated.
“For that, we will need to expose the entire pipeline from the starting point of the works to ground zero,” Comm Hussein said at the scene of the incident yesterday.
He said authorities have already unearthed more of the pipeline as part of the investigation.
Police, he said, found the pipe was located 5.6m below the road surface – with about 1.6m separating it from the sewage pipe being replaced nearby.
“The physical condition of the pipe did not show clear signs of disturbance,” Comm Hussein noted.
As weather conditions have made the area around ground zero unstable, the installation of sheet piles is planned to reinforce the area, a task expected to take between seven and 10 days, he said.
A preliminary report is set to be completed around two weeks after April 15.
So far, 118 witnesses have been questioned, including 15 contractors, subcontractors and workers.
Comm Hussein said the investigation’s focus has now shifted to uncovering the cause of the incident. “When that is completed, we can then narrow down who was involved,” he said.
Meanwhile, 642 police reports have been lodged, including claims that fireworks were ignited in the vicinity on the night of March 31.
However, Comm Hussein said police do not see that as being related to the explosion.
“We welcome any information from the public. We have also received videos, and we are reviewing them one by one to determine the cause of the explosion from all angles,” he said.
On the recovery front, 154 of the 219 affected homes have now been deemed safe for occupancy.
Of these, 87 suffered major damage of more than 20%, while homes with less severe damage have already been cleared for repair work starting yesterday.
Subang Jaya mayor Datuk Amirul Azizan Abd Rahim, who was also present at the press conference, confirmed that the city council (MBSJ) had previously received complaints from residents regarding the construction work.
“MBSJ inspected the site of the excavation work and found that it had a valid permit from the city council and PETRONAS, and that set procedures were followed,” he said.
