KUALA TERENGGANU: The use of balloons either as decorative items or an opening gimmick will temporarily be banned in all official functions with immediate effect.
This is pending the outcome of police investigation into the explosion of a bunch of balloons during a health event at the Batu Burok Recreational Park yesterday, which injured over 30 people.
The explosion occurred at the end of the Walk for the Blind event organised by the Ophthalmology Department of the Sultanah Nur Zahirah Hospital.
Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman said the supplier of the balloons claimed that the balloons were filled with helium gas which is non-flammable.
However, he said the explosion showed that the gas was highly flammable, as the explosion erupted into a massive ball of fire and injured 31 people on the spot, a majority of them, children.
“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 told reporters after visiting several victims of the explosion at the hospital.
He was accompanied by hospital director Dr Nor Azimi Yunus.
Meanwhile, Azimi said the seven warded including one in the intensive care unit, suffered from burns ranging from three to 19 per cent. Another 24 received outpatient treatment yesterday.
She said the conditions of all the warded were stable but needed close observation.
“The one who suffered from a 19 per cent burn is a 12-year-old student. Most of the warded sustained burns on their face, neck and upper limbs,” she said.
During the incident, it is learnt about 150 black and white balloons, believed to contain flammable gas, were released into the sky as an opening gimmick but failed to float away after getting entangled.
The bunch was then left aside.
During the lucky draw session at 11.45am, some 30 people, mostly schoolchildren tried to pull down the balloons.
It is believed an adult took out a lighter to cut the entangled strings when an explosion suddenly occurred.
The victims were rushed to the hospital’s emergency room, which was 100m away.