KUALA LUMPUR - "When I heard a loud blast outside the house, I thought the building was falling down, especially after seeing the front door of my house ripped off and my neighbour’s house was on fire,” said Saadon Aksah.
The 48-year-old resident of the Desa Tun Razak Apartment in Cheras recounted the anxious moment of an explosion and fire at a housing unit there last night.
Saadon said during the incident, he was resting in his room when he was startled by a loud bang and strong tremors.
"As a result of the explosion, windows and some parts of my house were damaged,” he told Bernama here today.
Despite the incident, Saadon said he was grateful after the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department declared his house which he has lived in for eight years is safe.
Another resident, Mohd Jalil Mat Zen, 37, said that he and his wife were about to go to sleep when they heard a deafening explosion from the upper floors.
"My house is on the fourth floor...my family and I rushed out to safety...my wife, who has a heart condition, had to be taken to Serdang Hospital because she was shocked by what happened,” he said.
A 32-year-old man suffered 30 per cent burns to his body in the incident at about 10.59 pm.
The fire was believed to have been caused by a gas leak that led to an explosion in a house on the 10th floor of the apartment block and it also affected two nearby units.
The explosion also caused a section of the kitchen wall to collapse and damage 12 motorcycles.
Laila Mohd, 43, whose house is on the same floor of the affected units, said she and her husband had to break their door grille to make their way out.
"Our front door was damaged, making it difficult to open, which I believe was caused by the explosion.
"All I could think about at that time was getting out safely as I saw the fire in the front house was raging,” said the housewife.
Meanwhile, Cheras district police chief ACP Zam Halim Jamaluddin, when contacted by Bernama said the victim was still being treated at Hospital Canselor Tunku Muhriz Cheras. - BERNAMA