SUBANG JAYA: It took just an hour of heavy rain to almost completely flood the crater at ground zero, where work is ongoing to extract the final section of a gas pipeline in Putra Heights.

About half an hour after reporters left the site following a visit to ground zero, a heavy downpour began at around 2pm.

By approximately 3pm, while the rain was still falling, a source revealed that the crater had almost completely flooded, sharing a photo via WhatsApp.

At least 50 members of the media were allowed into ground zero today - a move that Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan believed would help them better understand the immense challenges faced by the joint investigation team probing the incident.

The group was escorted from the main road along Persiaran Harmoni to Jalan Putra Harmoni 1/3, adjacent to the crater.

Police then requested that members of the media surrender their mobile phones before being granted access to the site where the investigation was taking place.

Homes located near the crater bore evidence of the devastating heat from the flames, which the Fire and Rescue Department said reached over 1,000 degrees Celsius.

Some of the houses closest to the site had only their cement walls still standing.

There were also signs that the heat had melted metal, believed to be remnants of vehicles, with several pieces of melted metal and alloy seen strewn on the ground in front of the damaged houses.

Earlier today, it was reported that rain remains the biggest challenge for investigators at ground zero, where the gas pipeline exploded.

Hussein was quoted as saying that it had rained on 20 out of the 28 days since investigations began at the site.

He also told reporters that once it rains, it takes nearly half a day to pump out the stagnant water from the crater before excavation work on the affected pipe can resume.

He added that the rain had also made the ground unstable, further slowing down operations at the scene.

On April 1, a massive fire involving a Petronas gas pipeline broke out in Putra Heights, Selangor.

Videos captured dramatic scenes of orange flames shooting skywards from the pipeline site, visible from kilometres away.

The incident destroyed 81 homes in the vicinity of the blast, with another 81 partially damaged, and 57 others affected by the heat of the flames.

SEREMBAN – Kerajaan Negeri perlu mewujudkan satu pelan mitigasi keselamatan khusus untuk laluan paip gas di negeri ini demi keselamatan umum.

Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri (ADUN) Kamarol Ridzuan Mohd Zain(PN-Paroi) berkata, ia termasuklah pelaksanaan pemantauan berkala, larangan pembakaran terbuka dalam radius berisiko, serta pemasangan penanda lokasi paip gas yang lebih jelas.

”Di Negeri Sembilan, terdapat laluan paip gas bertekanan tinggi di kawasan seperti Sendayan, Seremban dan Port Dickson, termasuk di kawasan berhampiran perumahan dan industri.

“Kita tidak boleh memandang ringan risiko ini, apatah lagi laporan sebelum ini menunjukkan terdapat aktiviti pembakaran terbuka dan pembangunan berhampiran laluan paip gas yang membahayakan,” katanya dalam Sesi Perbahasan Usul Menjunjung Kasih Titah Ucapan Diraja Persidangan Pertama (Perasmian ) Penggal Ketiga, Dewan Undangan Negeri, Negeri Sembilan Yang Ke-15 di sini, hari ini. – KOSMO! ONLINE

TANJUNG MALIM – Lebih 500 penduduk Kampung Orang Asli Sungai Tisong kini dapat menarik nafas lega apabila akses perhubungan darat mereka iaitu jambatan bailey telah siap sepenuhnya hari ini.

Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Infrastruktur, Tenaga, Air dan Pengangkutan Awam Perak, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin berkata, jambatan bailey itu dibina bagi menggantikan jambatan lama yang runtuh di lokasi sama di Sungai Liat, Sungkai.

“Keseluruhan kerja pembinaan jambatan termasuk jalan tuju telah siap sekaligus memberi kemudahan kepada penduduk setempat melaksanakan aktiviti harian seperti biasa.

“Kerja pemasangan telah bermula pada 23 April dan siap sepenuhnya pukul 5 petang hari ini,” katanya di Jalan Felda, Sungai Klah Hot Spring Daerah Batang Padang, Tanjung Malim di sini hari ini.

Terdahulu, beliau secara simbolik merasmikan majlis ‘flag off’ jambatan bailey itu yang turut dihadiri ADUN Behrang, Salina Samsudin. – KOSMO! ONLINE

KUALA LUMPUR: Hot weather exceeding 40°C was among the challenges faced by the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) during the Malaysian Humanitarian Aid Mission for earthquake victims in Myanmar last March.

SMART's sole female member PB Avlyanie Moidi, 28, who serves as a logistics assistant, shared that the intense heat took a significant toll on the physical endurance of the team including personnel from the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma).

Apart from the weather, she said the team also had to face the risk of building collapse during aftershocks and language barriers as well as limited access to the disaster-hit areas.

Also present on the programme was Nadma director-general Datuk Khairul Shahril Idrus, Bernama reported. Avlyanie was among 50 people involved in the humanitarian aid as well as search and rescue operation for earthquake victims in Myanmar.

According to her, the mission tested not only physical endurance but also emotional strength.

One of the most heart-wrenching moments, she recalled, was the rescue of a father and daughter trapped beneath the ruins of a temple, while the mother waited anxiously outside, clinging to hope.

"When we finally brought (the bodies of) the father and child out, the mother's expression changed instantly, from hope to grief. It was devastating.

"In that moment, I was truly overcome with emotion. All I could do was embrace her and offer my condolences," she recounted with a tearful voice.

Avlyanie, a mother of one, previously served in the K-9 Unit of the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department, an experience that, she said, helped build her emotional resilience and mental fortitude.

For her, participating in high-risk missions is not a reason for women to doubt their capabilities, but instead, an opportunity to prove their true potential.