Putra Heights inferno: Ground beneath pipe gave way, says report
SHAH ALAM: An investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Department has revealed that ground instability led to the gas pipeline explosion in Putra Heights.
The Petroleum Safety Department director, Husdin Che Amat, explained that the lower part of the pipeline was not adequately supported by the soft and moist ground.
"This caused a physical failure at the pipe segment at the location of the blast, resulting in gas leakage which ignited and exploded," he said.
Husdin added that the weak soil caused the pipe to move repeatedly, known as cyclic loading, generating stress lines and fatigue striations on the pipe surface.
Metallographic analysis indicated that tensile overload was the primary cause of the failure, developing slowly until it resulted in ductile failure, releasing gas and triggering a fire.
"In conclusion, the pipe failure was due to the ground beneath it not being strong enough to support its weight and pressure, causing instability, leakage, and eventually an explosion," Husdin said.
However, investigations found that the gas pipe met specified technical standards. The mishap was not due to surface activities but because the ground beneath did not provide adequate support.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed there were no acts of sabotage or carelessness involved in the Putra Heights Petronas pipeline blast.
Comm Hussein said police investigated the incident under Section 435 of the Penal Code for committing mischief by fire and Sections 285 and 286 for negligence with fire or combustible matter.
Investigations also focused on work carried out by contractors in the area.
Meanwhile, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari announced that a special committee will be established to implement measures to prevent similar tragedies.
The explosion caused a large-scale fire, destroying homes, public infrastructure, and vehicles, and injuring around 150 people.
The incident, which occurred just after 8am, caused flames to shoot over 30 metres high with heat reaching up to 1,000 degrees Celsius.
It took almost eight hours to extinguish the fire, leaving a 9.8m-deep crater at the site.
More than 500 residents were evacuated to relief centres, and some of those whose houses were completely destroyed have yet to return home as repairs are expected to take at least two years.
Eighty-one houses suffered structural damage exceeding 40%, another 81 were partially damaged, and 57 were affected but not burned.
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