Putra Heights Fire: Survivors & Firefighter Recalls Horrifying Experiences

Reportedly, more than 200 families and homeowners were affected by the incident. As of this article, the investigation to find the cause of the incident is still ongoing.

“It was like a battlefield.”

For Selangor Zone 2 Office Officer, Assistant Fire Chief Muzdiean Haiza Muhamad, the incident makes her feel as if she had been transported to a battlefield.

“It was very chaotic. The trees and houses were burning, and there were victims crawling out in pain.”

Recalling the incident, Muzdiean said she and her team were among the first to arrive at the scene after they'd received the emergency call at 8:10 am.

Despite the massive fire and the extreme heat, there are still some homeowners who refuse to leave as they’re trying to save their personal belongings.

“There's one couple who were too anxious to leave their home that I had to keep on telling them to leave, as the extreme heat can cause spontaneous combustion."

"The husband eventually agrees and calls out for his wife to follow suit. She finally gave in when the heat became too much. When she was running outside, I saw the skin of her feet had melted to the ground.”

In the end, Muzdiean and her team managed to rescue 37 victims in the Taman Putera Harmoni housing area.

“I had to jump into the Klang River with my two sons to escape the heat.”

As for Masayuan Takbir, the explosion has left her and her family with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

In an interview, the 35-year-old mother of two said that during the incident, her husband had left earlier for work, and she was left at home with her two sons, aged nine and five.

Masayuan said the explosion caused the walls of her house to crack, and the main door failed to open. The housewife shared how she and her two sons had to pry open the kitchen door to escape.

“We ran out of the house barefoot. We were heading to the Klang River, which was about 50 metres from our home. There was another explosion which caused huge chunks of stones to hit my back."

"I had to turn back to retrieve my sons’ medications. My eldest had lung disease while my youngest had heart disease,” she added.

The gut-wrenching moment happened when Masayuan's eldest son shouted and told her that his brother's hand was badly burnt and the flesh could be seen.

Masayuan said, at that moment, she quickly wrapped her son's injured arm and jumped into the river together. The family hid by the riverbank for two hours before they were rescued by other villagers who later sent them to the hospital to receive treatments.

“My eldest son is badly traumatised. He refused to go to school and would cry every time there was a loud noise. He also frequently awakens at night due to nightmares,” Masayuan said.

“I saw families jump into the river; some of them were flailing like they almost drowned.”

Five Pakistani men were dubbed the unsung heroes after they selflessly jumped into the river to save the victims of the Putra Heights explosion.

One of them, named Amir Nawab, 48, said he only intended to help after he saw people jumping into the river to escape the heat. What caused him and his friends to jump and help was when they saw how some of the victims were struggling to swim.

“We saw people screaming and shouting for help. When we arrived, we saw people and kids struggling to swim against the current. We jumped in and pulled them out. Some of my friends went in and rescued the children first,” he said.