Seven of a family injured as steamboat gas stove explodes

TEMERLOH - A dinner for a family of seven turned into a tragedy when a portable gas stove used to cook 'steamboat' exploded in an incident at a restaurant here on March 9.

The victim Noraini Abdullah, 53, said the 7pm incident happened in the blink of an eye when she, her husband Ayob Harun, 59 and her four children as well as son-in-law aged between 21 and 29 were eating.

She said they heard an explosion before the gas stove catapulted.

"It happened too fast, we didn't have time to avoid it and everyone was hit by sparks from the gas stove.

"We then went to a nearby clinic for initial treatment before returning home to Bera," she said when contacted by Sinar on Wednesday.

Noraini said the next day, the family once again sought initial treatment at the Triang Health Clinic before being asked to refer to a specialist at the Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Hospital (HoSHAS).

"My husband and second son Arif Fauzan were badly injured with burns around the face and hands.

"For four days, our family was placed in the ward and now we are in a private hospital for a follow-up examination," she said.

He added that the family had come to the restaurant before to eat and did not expect the incident to happen.

"The restaurant owner met with us and apologised.

"A police report was made at the Temerloh District Police Headquarters (IPD) and we hope that this kind of incident will not happen again," she said.