NIBONG TEBAL: A family of five suffered injuries in an explosion believed to have been caused by cooking gas leakage at their home in Taman Cenderawasih, here, last night.

The explosion also caused at least two houses as well as a motorcycle and a car parked at the back and in front of the house to suffer damage.

Fire and Rescue Department of Malaysia operations officer Abd Syukur @ Mohd Ilhami Musa said the department received information about the incident at 9.45 pm.

"When we arrived at the scene, we found that the damage on the three houses was similar to the effect of an explosion, probably due to cooking gas leakage," he said when contacted today.

He also said that all five victims were sent to Penang Hospital.


Meanwhile, state Environment and Welfare Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said the victims comprised a 35-year-old man; his twin sons aged five, and his two nieces aged 14 and 20.

He said during the incident, the family had just returned home and as they were opening the door, there was an explosion that resulted in injuries to the victims.

Meanwhile, a neighbour R. Sumathi, 44, said she was shocked to see the victims including two children covered in blood and with severe injuries, standing in front of her house when she opened the gate.

"They ran to my house after the explosion crying and asking for help," said Sumathi, who helped to send the lightly injured victims to the hospital.

Another neighbour, Mohd Hashim Ahmad, 41, said he was in a room while his wife and son were in the living room when they were startled by the sound of an explosion and strong tremors.

"Initially, I thought it was an earthquake. Apparently, it was an explosion that happened next door. Upon realising this, we immediately evacuated from the house for fear of another explosion.

"At that time, a crowd had already gathered in front of our house. Our ceiling, walls and several pieces of equipment were also damaged with an estimated loss of RM30,000," he said.

-- BERNAMA