Medical personnel recount how they sprung into action
CYBERJAYA: It was the second day of Hari Raya, many people were on leave and all seemed quiet at Hospital Cyberjaya.
And then all hell broke loose. A gas pipeline was on fire in Putra Heights and at least two dozen people were rushed to the hospital, all needing emergency treatment.
Ambulances were going back and forth, and people were walking into the hospital in a daze, with severe burns on their bodies.
The hospital staff, working with a skeleton crew due to the holidays, were pushed to the limit.
Recalling the incident on April 1 last year, Dr R. Periyanayaki R.M. Ramanathan, an emergency physician at the hospital, said she was expecting a quiet morning shift.
“Once we heard ‘gas explosion’, we immediately knew there would be an influx of people.
“I was at home in Putrajaya but on call. I immediately rushed to the hospital,” she told The Star yesterday.
“My staff informed me they were activating ambulances to pick up victims of a gas explosion.”
She arrived to find the hospital in chaos, with victims being brought in by ambulances operated by both government and private agencies.
“Some were brought in by private responders and vehicles from community philanthropist Uncle Kentang,” she said, adding that she also recalled some victims walking through the emergency doors despite their injuries.
In total, the hospital tended to 25 victims from the inferno that morning.
Dr Periyanayaki also recounted the harrowing nature of the victims’ injuries caused by the intense heat of the explosion and fire.
“I initially anticipated chemical injuries. But when we saw the wounds, it was purely from the intense heat,” she said.
“People were walking in despite having extensive injuries on the soles of their feet.”
Many victims were fully conscious despite suffering second and third-degree burns, she added.
Besides treating the “semi-critical” cases, she said three victims with severe burns were transferred to the specialised burn unit at Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).
“As emergency physicians, we are trained to stay calm and we remained composed on the outside, even if on the inside we were not,” she said with a slight smile.
She also recalled the hospital’s psychiatric team being on hand to provide immediate psychological support to the victims.
Another emergency physician, Dr Timothy Lau Qingshinn, was on his regular duties at Hospital Serdang when the emergency call came in.
He and his colleague Dr Pamela Siow Soek Wuen rushed to the scene and immediately swung into action to lead the medical efforts at ground zero in Putra Heights.
Despite all his training in medical field work, the devastation at the scene caught him off guard.
“Nothing prepares you for the real disaster itself. The scale of what happened shocked us.”
Dr Lau, who is now based at Hospital Cyberjaya, said that, in addition to burns and blisters, several victims also suffered fractures from falls while trying to escape the fire and heat.
He lauded the close teamwork between different agencies and volunteer groups that helped provide assistance to the victims.
The massive gas pipeline explosion, which happened at around 8am, saw a fire which shot over 30m high with heat reaching up to 1,000ºC. It took almost eight hours to be extinguished.
Over 500 residents were evacuated to relief centres and 81 houses suffered structural damage exceeding 40%.
Another 81 were partially damaged, and 57 were affected but not burned.
