Govt panel to probe into firemen’s deaths
PUTRAJAYA: The government will conduct a detailed probe into the drowning of six members of the Fire and Rescue Department water rescue unit (PPDA) in a disused mine in Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong, last Wednesday.
Sources told the NSTP that the probe would be conducted by a committee comprising senior officers from the Housing and Local Government Ministry, as well as the Fire and Rescue Department.
The committee would comprise the deputy secretary-general of the ministry’s policy division; the ministry ’s legal adviser; Local Government Department, members of professional bodies, as well as Fire and Rescue Department’s officers.
“Investigations into the incident will include various aspects, like practicality, personnel and assets used during the mission,” said a source yesterday.
He added that a gag-order had been imposed on firemen and personnel from the department’s Cyberjaya, Shah Alam and Port Klang fire stations, who were involved in the rescue mission.
Instructions had also been issued to ensure that statements on the incident would not conflict with the ongoing investigation.
“At the moment, all statements on the incident are made based on preliminary investigations rather than the full investigation. Upon completion, the full report would be handed over to Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamarudin before being made public.
“The investigation is still in progress, in fact, all witnesses of the incident, including firefighters and rescue workers, will be summoned by the committee from Monday to complete the investigation,” he said.
Meanwhile the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) would install a fence and erect warning signs to prevent people from entering the disused mining pool.
According to DID, the tragedy took place at a former mining site that was used as a reservoir to hold excess water from Cyberjaya and its surrounding areas.
“The retention pond was gazetted under Section 48 LUAS Enactment 1999 as a protection zone for alternative water source on April 27, 2017,” it said.
It added that based on a study, the pond’s “live storage” was about 1.5 million cubic metres while its estimated water intake was 15 million litres per day.