Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said parts of the area were being dug to replace a sewage pipe, and an excavator was found buried in a crater left by the blast.
He said no body was found on the excavator, based on the preliminary investigations.
“The excavation work started in mid-March and halted on March 30,” Hussein told a press conference here today.
He said police are investigating if the excavation work, about 30m from the blast site, had contributed to the massive fire. The developer, contractor and subcontractor involved have been identified.
“We need more time to determine if the digging activity caused the explosion,” he said.
The fire, which broke out on the morning of April 1, engulfed a 500m section of the gas pipeline, injuring 111 people, many with burns and respiratory issues.
It destroyed 225 vehicles and damaged another 174. It also left a 10m-deep crater measuring 21m by 24m and damaged homes and properties within a 500m radius.
Hussein said police have taken statements from 56 witnesses, and are obtaining further information from a security guard who was stationed just 30m from the site and was injured in the blast.
“For now, we are still investigating. We are also reviewing videos uploaded to social media to gather more details,” he said, adding that police are also investigating for possible sabotage and negligence.
Hussein also said the cause of the blast cannot be determined yet as the site is still unstable.
He said it would take about two weeks for the ground to stabilise before authorities can investigate the cause of the explosion.
The investigation will likely commence on April 15.
“In the meantime, authorities will clear water from the crater and stabilise the land before continuing their investigations,” he said.
According to Hussein, Petronas’s monitoring systems did not detect any gas leaks before the explosion, saying its sensors would have picked up on any drop in pressure. The investigations are nonetheless ongoing to determine whether a leak occurred.
The 30-year-old gas pipeline starts from Kerteh, Terengganu, and extends to Perlis.
“Even if there was a gas leak, an explosion would only occur if there was an ignition source. We need to determine if there was a leak and what might have caused the ignition,” Hussein said.
Separately, the Prime Minister’s Office said Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari and Petronas president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Aziz will take the lead in coordinating aid efforts for the victims.
It said this was to ensure that the efforts would be streamlined and more effective.
Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has also announced that he would be personally contributing RM1,000 each to the seven public healthcare workers affected by the fire. - FMT
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