A young woman was severely burned when her handphone exploded at a petrol station in Taman Setapak Indah. Apparently, the 25-year-old woman was answering a call in the backseat of her car while refuelling at 1:25pm on Tuesday (28th June).
One of the station’s workers saw a cloud of black smoke coming out from inside of the car and when he opened the door, the woman was already heavily injured.
“When my worker opened the door, he saw a cloud of smoke from inside the car. The woman had severe burns, with her skin clinging to the backseat. At the same time, my staff prevented anyone from approaching the scene of the incident.They have all been trained to provide early assistance in the event of an emergency, until help arrives,” said Muhd Haikal Kamarudin, manager of the petrol station.
The woman was sent to Hospital Kuala Lumpur for treatment and it is learnt that she suffered burns covering 60% of her body.
City Fire and Rescue Department chief operations officer Samsol Maarif Saibani said that there was no fire following the handphone explosion, urging the public to refrain from using their mobile phones when refuelling their vehicles.
When photos of the incident first circulated on Facebook, many netizens commented that they have the habit of talking on the phone or answering calls while they refuel their cars. One user known as Chong wrote, “I always answer calls when I visit the petrol station. I’m definitely scared now.”
Meanwhile, some netizens pointed fingers at the petrol station’s attendants for not stopping the victim from using her mobile phone.
“The station’s worker should remind customers to turn off their engine and to not use their phones. That’s the right way. But these employees did nothing,” commented Chew.
UPDATE (20th July, 9am):
The woman who was burnt using her handphone while she was filing petrol in her car in Taman Setapak Indah has died, Bernama confirms.
According to Wangsa Maju police chief Supt Mohamad Roy Suhaimi Sarif, who was informed by the family, 25-year-old T. Sarifhla passed away at 5am on Sunday (17th July) in Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
“The victim’s family announced the death today (19th July) and the case was classified as sudden death,” he told Bernama.
Sources: Bernama, NST, 八度空间华语新闻 Facebook Page / Featured image: 八度空间华语新闻 Facebook Page.
