“Now, I’m not even B40, I’m homeless” – Pensioner Loses 9 Houses in Putra Heights Blast, Suffers RM1.5mil in Damages

A government pensioner, who was among the victims of the gas pipeline explosion in Putra Heights on Tuesday (April 1), is sharing his grief after the inferno destroyed 9 of his properties and belongings, causing damages worth more than RM1.5 million.

“Now, I am not even B40, I am like a homeless person who has nothing,” he said.

According to a report by Harian Metro, the pensioner, 60-year-old Zainudin Abdul Halim, shared that the 9 properties included his own home and 8 units he was renting out. Due to the tragedy, he has also let go of his intention to perform Umrah next week.

However, with all things considered, he is happy to be alive despite sustaining burns and wounds on 70% of his body.

“I am very grateful. Looking at the location and time of the incident, I believe God has arranged things in the best way possible. If it had been a moment later or quicker, I would have definitely died. The distance between my house and the location of the explosion was only about 30 to 40 meters. I think if anyone were to have died first, I would have been the first,”

“My son just finished undergoing surgery today (Thursday – April 3), due to severe burns on the soles of his feet after he ran without slippers to save himself during the incident,” he added.

How things went down that day, for him

On the morning of the explosion, which was also Hari Raya Day 2, Zainudin had returned home at about 8:10am with breakfast for his family.

“About 5 minutes later, I heard an explosion and our house shook. After that, I heard a loud roar like the sound of a jet engine. When I looked out the door of the house, I saw something falling and the sky was red,” he explained.

Upon realising that something was very wrong, he shouted for his family members to escape their home to a safe place.

“My children asked me to save the car first, but I said I couldn’t. If I had saved the car, I think I would have died. There was a tenant who worked as a healthcare worker, they also told everyone to run for safety,”

“After running about 100 meters, we took shelter at the nearest house and wet ourselves with water. After that, we continued running for about another 100 meters to save ourselves because we could not stand the heat from the fire at that time,” he added.

They then managed to get to a safe distance where first responders took him and his family to a hospital for treatment.

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Also read: Pipeline Explosion Victim Claims Developer Trespassed Into Pipeline Land to Build Carpark