Putra Heights fire: Excavator's location has been identified

SUBANG JAYA – Police have identified the location of an excavator feared to be buried in the gas pipeline explosion area at Jalan Putra Harmoni, Putra Heights, here, on April 1.

Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan said the machine was located near the main pipeline that exploded at ‘ground zero’ or the epicentre of the incident.

“At present, our focus is on investigating the cause of the incident, particularly the gas pipeline. Once that is completed, we will begin excavation works at the location where the machine is buried.

“I must stress that conducting the investigation work here is very complex and is expected to take a week after the excavation at the main section is completed,” he said at a press conference at the Incident Control Post here on Wednesday.

Hussein said that after the pipeline removal process is completed, efforts would then focus on retrieving the buried machine for investigative purposes.

“The current excavation at the main site is at a depth of nine metres,” he said.

On April 4, Hussein reportedly said that the authorities had identified the developer, contractor, sub-contractor and workers involved in the excavation activity at the explosion site using two machines, one of which was buried in the crater.

He said the crater excavation was being carried out to assist further investigations into the cause of the incident and to retrieve the buried machine.

Explaining the excavation activities around the explosion site, Hussein said the work was conducted to replace a sewer pipe located about 30 metres from the blast centre.

Additionally, investigations are also being conducted to determine whether the activity contributed to the explosion.

Meanwhile, regarding claims that excavation work was carried out on the first day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Hussein said the matter had been taken into account.

However, he explained that authorities were informed that the excavator allegedly used had been removed from the area for repair work prior to the incident.

He said further investigations would be carried out comprehensively, including into the allegations.