Malaysia: Fire at Genting Highlands theme park sparks evacuations

Saturday, 15 June 2024 - 12:09

Malaysia%3A+Fire+at+Genting+Highlands+theme+park+sparks+evacuations
A fire broke out at the Genting Highlands theme park in Malaysia on Friday (Jun 14), prompting evacuations as the blaze sent plumes of black smoke into the air.

Footage of the incident shared widely on social media showed flames raging from the SkyAvenue shopping mall in the Central Park area of Genting SkyWorlds Theme Park.

Visitors described their panic as the fire spread across the building, with some worried that the building might collapse.

Tourist Hafiz Abdul Halim, 42, who was with his wife, said they became fearful when they realised that there was a fire in the building.

"We obviously panicked when we heard people screaming here and there. The police on duty did ask people to evacuate the premises and exit to safer locations," he told local news agency Bernama.

Restaurant assistant Adrian Wong, 32, said that staff as well as visitors were asked to vacate the premises.

"Everyone made it out. They vacated and left everything to save themselves," he said, adding that all floors were evacuated for safety purposes.

Resorts World Genting said in a statement on its website that the fire broke out at about 4.30pm and that evacuation was carried out immediately.

Apart from SkyAvenue, other areas of the resort were not affected, it added.

The evacuation was orderly and the fire was contained as of 6.55pm, said Facebook user See Li Min.

A photograph of the aftermath taken from her hotel room nearby showed the charred exterior of the building with what appeared to be damping down operations ongoing.


The fire at SkyAvenue in Genting Highlands was put out at about 6.55pm. (Photo: Facebook/See Li Min)
Another patron, who wanted to be known as Hazel, told CNA that she evacuated to her hotel at about 4.50pm after noticing the fire at a restaurant.

She added that the outdoor theme park was also affected.

Local news outlet Kosmo reported earlier that more than 5,000 people evacuated, with some in a state of panic.

The Pahang fire and rescue department said in an initial statement that it was alerted at 4.55pm with personnel arriving at the location about five minutes later.

The fire started on the second floor before spreading to the fourth.

Pahang fire and rescue department director Wan Mohamad Zaidi Wan Isa said in a later update that the blaze was brought under control at 6.30pm, with no victims.

Genting Highlands, in the Malaysian state of Pahang, is a popular entertainment and tourist destination. It has both indoor and outdoor theme parks, casinos, as well as shopping malls. It also hosts a variety of concerts.


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