Putra Heights Gas Explosion: DOSH Confirms Pipe Met Technical Specs

SHAH ALAM, June 30 (Bernama) -- The Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) has confirmed that the gas pipe involved in the Putra Heights inferno last April met all the required technical specifications.

DOSH Petroleum Safety Division director Husdin Che Amat said that, on the contrary, laboratory analysis revealed that the lower part of the pipe was not fully supported by the soil, which was found soft and damp, thus putting pressure on the surface of the pipe.

He said that the weakened soil condition had caused repeated cyclic loading, resulting in stress lines and fatigue striations on the pipe’s surface.

“This resulted in physical failure in the pipe at the scene, causing a gas leak that ignited (and led to the explosion).

“Metallographic analysis also showed that tensile overload was the main cause of the failure and that this damage developed slowly until it caused a ductile failure which released gas and sparked a fire,” he told a special press conference to announce the investigation report on the incident here today.

Also present were Selangor Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari and Police Chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan.

Elaborating, Husdin said DOSH, in collaboration with the Department of Minerals and Geoscience (JMG), Public Works Department (JKR), Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM), and the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), had conducted a comprehensive investigation into the incident over nearly three months.

During that period, he said five samples were collected and sent to SIRIM, a premier standard and industrial research organisation, for laboratory testing, which began on April 15 and concluded on May 8.

He explained that the investigation methodology included on-site inspections, laboratory analysis, systems review, computer simulations, and hypothesis validation, which took into consideration pipeline operations, structural integrity, material conditions, and external stress factors.

“Based on findings from all agencies involved, we identified three critical elements: the pipeline fracture occurred at a welded joint due to tensile stress, the soil beneath was soft and loose,  and there was significant cyclic loading prior to the failure and subsequent fire.

“In conclusion, the pipeline failure was caused by unstable soil conditions that were insufficient to support the weight and pressure of the pipe. This led to instability, leakage, and eventually, an explosion,” he said.

Husdin said the investigation was conducted under the Occupational Safety and Health (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Petroleum (Safety Measures) Act 1984.

He also confirmed that no elements of sabotage or negligence were found.

As a preventive measure, DOSH has directed Petronas to identify and review all high-risk segments along its 2,680-kilometre gas pipeline stretching from Jerteh, Terengganu, to Singapore.

“Petronas has already identified these areas and has been instructed to carry out immediate remedial work along the affected segments,” he added, declining to disclose the exact locations for security reasons.

-- BERNAMA