Woman in coma after gas tank blast

 

Horrific accident: Debris at the front of the house after the explosion in Taman Sena Permai, Pokok Sena, Penang. Muhammad Azib said the blast left Siti Hajar (below) in a critical condition. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

KEPALA BATAS: A 26-year-old woman who was to get married next month is now in a coma with 70% burns on her body after the cooking gas tank in her house exploded.

Siti Hajar Hanis Muhammad was cooking breakfast when the incident happened in Taman Sena Permai here on Tuesday.

Her younger brother Muhammad Azib Muhammad, 25, said Siti Hajar is in a critical but stable condition.

Recalling the incident, he said his sister was preparing her breakfast while working from home when the gas tank exploded in the kitchen.Siti Hajar, who works as a drafter in a telecommunications company, was allowed to work from home as her job involved drafting detailed technical plans on the computer.

Muhammad Azib said he and his wife Marsitah Md Zaki, 25, were asleep on the top floor of their double-storey house when the explosion happened.

He at first thought it was an earthquake after feeling the tremors of the explosion but when his sister screamed for help, he knew something was not right.

They ran downstairs and found the living room in a mess, with all the furniture thrown about.

“It felt and looked like an explosion in a scene from a movie,” he said, hoping that his sister will recuperate in time for her marriage next month.

Marsitah said she pulled her sister-in-law to another room while her husband extinguished the fire and a neighbour called the firemen.

Neighbour Nur Iman Maisarah Mohd Hamizan, 14, said when she heard the explosion at about 8am, she thought it was people playing with fireworks and went back to sleep.

“But my younger brother said there was a house on fire.

“When I got up, I saw my mother already at the house helping the victim,” she said.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department director Saadon Mokhtar confirmed that the cooking gas leakage caused the explosion.

“Looking at the extent of the aftermath, the leakage might have spread gradually in the house the night before the incident,” he said.

Last August, a medical specialist died after the cooking gas cylinder at his house in Solok Jesselton exploded.

Gastroenterologist and hepatologist Dr Seow Eng Lok, 53, succumbed to his injuries in the explosion.

He had gone down to his kitchen when he suspected a gas leak at 5.30am on July 20 last year. He sustained 95% burns.

Investigators later found a leak in the gas hose to gas cylinders outside the house. - Star