KOTA TINGGI, April 12 — More than 10 houses in Kampung Lepau, near Pengerang, here, were believed to have been damaged due to a fire and explosion incident at the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) earlier today.

A homeowner, Abd Rahim Sanusi, 85, said he was asleep during the incident, and awakened when he heard the loud bang.

"I have just undergone heart surgery, and was shocked (by the blast). When I got out of the room, I saw much of the ceiling in my house had come down,” the senior citizen told Bernama when met here.

He said there were also several cracks in the walls around the house.

During the incident, Abd Rahim was at home with his two children and two grandchildren.

Another villager, Abdul Halim Mahmood, 52, said he was just about to go to rest at about 1.30 am when he heard a loud sound like that of a bomb exploding.

"I heard the sound of glass breaking, so I looked outside and found that my sliding door had shattered due to the loud bang,” he said, adding there were also cracks on some of the walls.

Meanwhile, village chief Zainal Abidin Abd Rahim said that during the incident, he was outside the village and received calls from the other villagers over the matter.

"Shortly after the incident, I contacted a Petronas’ representative to find out what had happened. Petronas then told me to census each home to identify the types of damage incurred, and for those affected to lodge police reports,” he said. 

Zainal Abidin also urged the villagers not to worry and inform him about any damages to their homes.

It is learned that more than 10 police reports have been lodged as of 10 am.

Kampung Lepau, located about one kilometre from the Pengerang Integrated Complex, has 67 houses with over 100 residents.

Petronas in a statement here said the fire and explosion incident at 1.25am had been successfully contained within half an hour.

The incident was also believed to have injured two local security guards at the project site. — Bernama