Preliminary investigation reveals that the explosion at the Empire Gallery shopping complex in Subang Jaya today is not linked to any acts of sabotage or terrorism, said Selangor deputy police chief A Thaivegan.

He said police did not rule out the possibility that the incident was due to negligence.

“Based on initial investigation, there is no evidence to show that the incident was due to sabotage or an act of terrorism.

khalid ibrahim visit empire shopping mall explosion scene 280911 02 “We consider this as an accident, where we know it was due to a gas leakage. But we want to know what was the actual cause for the explosion,” he told reporters after visiting the location of the explosion.

He said the probe would take into account the investigation papers from the Fire and Rescue Department and the Energy Commission.

“The police forensics unit will investigate this matter by taking into account every aspect before coming to a conclusion,” he said.

The explosion at about 3.30am is believed to have been to a leak in the gas pipe, which resulted in four people suffering light injuries.

It occurred in the basement which houses many eating shops.

Meanwhile, a check by Bernama at the location found that several business centres and office buildings nearby were also affected by the explosion at the Empire Gallery.

Among others, the glass panels of the Wisma Consplant office building located opposite the shopping centre were shattered due to the explosion.

The explosion also broke the mirror of a room where an automated teller machine (ATM) was located.

A temporary metal safety barrier was also seen to be installed around the shopping centre.

The shopping complex was full of security personnel including policmen and fire fighters besides others such as those from the Energy Commission and the building management.

Besides destroying the lower ground floor, the explosion also resulted in the dress shop and the restaurant on the first floor to be badly damaged.

Bernama is made to understand that 370 tenants and guests of a hotel beside the Empire Gallery had been evacuated to a nearby hotel.

Empire Gallery temporarily closed

In a related development, Empire Shopping Gallery has been temporarily closed to the public until a report on what caused the explosion is completed.

Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim said the building has to be closed as firemen and police are still investigating the explosion.

khalid ibrahim visit empire shopping mall explosion scene 280911 03 "After this, the building co-owners and engineers will inspect the area and decide whether it can be reopened to the public or not.

"The government priority is public safety.

"The co-owners must guarantee that the building is safe to the public if reopened," he told reporters after inspecting the scene.

He was proud of the firemen and police who arrived at the scene less than 15 minutes after the explosion.

"I was assured by a professional team including engineers that they had inspected the building structure and found that it was not affected."

Four people escaped with light injuries from the explosion early this morning.

 - Bernama

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