ANN/THE STAR – People in Bintulu are taking precautions due to concerns about potential chemical pollution following a fire at a foreign-owned factory at Samalaju Industrial Park.
“Based on the photos and videos, the incident looked pretty scary. Now everyone is wearing face masks,” said a local resident, who requested anonymity.
Ten people were injured in the incident on Wednesday evening when a fire broke out at the factory’s bottom reactor.
Tanjong Batu assemblyman Johnny Pang said four of the victims were in the intensive care unit at Hospital Bintulu, three in the burn unit and three in the surgical ward.
He urged people to remain calm and avoid spreading misinformation, adding that the relevant departments should also implement safety measures.
“There are already reports circulating online that the gases released from the explosion could affect health, potentially causing severe irritation or burns to the eyes, respiratory tract and skin, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
“Such information has undeniably caused public panic. Therefore, I will be in contact with hospitals and the state Health Department to better understand the situation,” he said when contacted on Thursday.
Pang also said this was not the first incident to occur at the Samalaju plant, adding that he had previously raised concerns about its safety issues at the last Sarawak legislative assembly sitting.
“I will bring up the issue again in the next state legislative assembly meeting and demand a reasonable explanation from the relevant departments after a thorough investigation.
“For high-risk factories like this, both the company and the relevant departments must exercise extreme caution to prevent accidents from happening,” he added.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed explosions and thick smoke billowing from the factory during Wednesday’s incident.
A spokesman for the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department’s operations centre said the fire was controlled and extinguished by the factory’s emergency response team before the firemen arrived.
“The factory management indicated that they only required the fire department to be on standby at the location,” the spokesman said.
The team from the Samalaju Fire and Rescue Station arrived at the scene at 6.28pm after receiving an emergency call at 6.24pm.
The spokesman added that the fire was brought under control by 6.50pm.
Bintulu Environment Depart-ment chief Abdul Mazli Hafiz Abdul Malik said air quality in the area was within safe limits.
He was reported as saying that by 9pm on Wednesday, the factory’s representative had informed the department that the smoke had ceased and the situation was under control.
Meanwhile, Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said he had instructed the Bintulu health office to assess the situation and promptly release the standard operating procedures for dealing with the situation to the public.
He said the district disaster management committee would be reactivated as an emergency measure if necessary.
“Although I am currently on an official visit abroad, I have contacted the staff at the Bintulu Parliamentary Service Centre to help coordinate the efforts, hoping to expedite the post-disaster response process,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
Tiong, who is also Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister, called on the factory to review and enhance its risk management mechanisms to ensure such incidents do not happen again.
“It is understood that this is not the first explosion at the factory. A similar incident occurred earlier this year, indicating that the factory’s disaster prevention measures are inadequate,” he said.
Tiong also urged the public not to spread rumours about the incident that could cause unnecessary panic but to get information from the relevant authorities
