3 HOTEL GUESTS ESCAPE DEATH
PD building rooftop, ceiling collapse while they’re asleep
ATREMENDOUS crashing sound, followed by screams from guests of the Avillion Hotel in Jalan Pantai here in the wee hours of yesterday, shocked the hotel’s security guards.
One of the guards, who declined to be named, said he heard a loud bang and ran to the hotel’s top floor to check the situation.
“It was chaotic and dark. I heard the guests crying for help. When I went to the affected room, I saw that the victims were trapped under rubble,” he said.
“I tried to pull them out, but couldn’t. My colleague made an emergency call to the Fire and Rescue Department.”
In the 4am incident, three guests narrowly escaped death when the rooftop of the hotel and the ceiling of their double-storey room on the seventh floor collapsed.
Two victims, aged 51 and 52, who were sleeping in a room on the upper floor of the duplex, sustained head and bodily injuries, while their son, 27, who was sleeping downstairs, escaped unhurt.
They were sent to Port Dickson Hospital.
State Fire and Rescue Department director Norazam Khamis said investigations found that the incident might have been caused by a water heater explosion.
However, he said, the probe was ongoing and that the Department had issued an order for the hotel’s management to temporarily close the building until the investigation was completed.
“Only one room was involved in the incident, believed to have been caused by a water heater exploding at the bathroom. The building is still safe,” he said.
Avillion Hotel Group acting chief executive officer Amirul Azhar Baharom said the hotel’s management regretted the incident.
“Our guests’ safety is our utmost priority, and the family of three that sustained minor injuries have received treatment as outpatients at Port Dickson Hospital.
“They are now back at the resort to rest, and resort staff are at hand to provide them with full support.”
“We are working with the authorities in the investigation, and our in-house structural engineers will join the (probe).
“Only one room was affected and we would appreciate it if no speculation is made until the investigation is concluded.”