Datuk Dr Zulkifli JantanKUCHING, Nov 25 (Bernama) — Six people who were severely burnt in the Sri Aman coal mine explosion in Sarawak last Saturday were airlifted to specialist hospitals in Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Tuesday.
Sarawak Medical Director Datuk Dr Zulkifli Jantan said two of them, Koreans Sin Chol Ju and Yang Chol Jin, were sent to the Sultanah Bahiyyah Hospital in Alor Setar, Kedah.
Indonesian Abdul Salam was sent to the Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor; Indonesian Mohd Zainuddin to the Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kelantan; Myanmar Aung Min Htut to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital and Indonesian Triono to the Kuala Terengganu Hospital.
Dr Zulkifli said these explosion victims were among the 21 who were admitted to the Sarawak General Hospital here last Saturday following the explosion which killed three people.
“We had to refer them (to the specialist hospitals) as we don’t have enough burn specialists in the state to cope with the number of injured patients,” he said.
Dr Zulkifli said that due to the shortage of specialists, two patients had to be referred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu yesterday.
He said that altogether 30 victims were warded, with some suffering between 60 per cent and 80 per cent burns.
“Some of the victims are recovering and can walk around. We expect them to be discharged within the next few days,” he said.
Three workers – a Korean, a Myanmar and an Indonesian – were killed and 30 others were injured in the coal mine explosion in Selantik, Pantu, Sri Aman, on Nov 22.
— BERNAMA
