A freak incident involving gas-filled balloons injured at least ten people at a charity event in Kuala Terengganu.
According to The New Straits Times, the incident reportedly happened during the Walk for the Blind event held at the Batu Burok recreational park last Friday.
During the lucky draw session at around 11.40am, a group of 30 people – mostly students who had taken part in a colouring contest – reportedly tried to free a bunch of black balloons believed to have contained highly-flammable gas, which had failed to release earlier as its strings had become entangled.
An adult then allegedly tried to use a lighter to burn the entangled strings, but the balloons reportedly caught fire and exploded, forming a huge fireball and accompanied by a loud explosion.
Ten people who were near the balloons at the time suffered serious burns and were rushed to the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital’s emergency unit.
According to the daily, at least two adults and two children were later warded at the hospital’s Burn Unit.
One of the victims, identified as Mohd Saiful Rizan, 33, reportedly risks permanent blindness as he is unable to see after suffering severe burns on his head and arms.
Meanwhile, Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman has ordered event organisers to stop using balloons either as decorative items or an opening gimmick at official events pending police investigation.
“We will wait for the outcome of the police report first on the actual gas used to inflate the balloons. If possible, we will ban the use of balloons in all official functions in future.
“I will also instruct all the local authorities to carry out checks on decorative balloons sold by traders in the state, especially in recreational parks that targets children.
“We want to be 100 per cent sure that only non-flammable gas is used to inflate balloons,” he was quoted by The New Straits Times as saying in a seperate report.
