The explosion happened yesterday at a slope in the construction site for the RM851 million bypass road project connecting Bandar Baharu Ayer Itam and the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

Malay Mail reported that a video clip of the explosion filmed by a resident showed soil blocks and sand falling onto the condominium’s car parks and swimming pool.

“A fault line in one of the large stone blocks caused it to not be fully uniform, with small air pockets not visible from the surface.

“These small pockets caused the explosives to create strong sound and pressure beyond expectations. The soil (used as protective material) exploded and flew further than expected,” PIC said.

PIC also said heavy rainfall from the night before turned the sandy soil into lumps, contributing to the damage to the cars and condominium facilities.

“Rock blasting work is part of the work scope for this project, and this marks the 600th time it has been carried out.

“It was carried out in accordance with the established procedures. Normally, there are no incidents of stones and soil flying in large quantities and across long distances,” the corporation said.

PIC said that to prevent recurrences, the contractor had been told to reduce the depth of the drill and explosive weight, ensure safety measures such as ground coverage and sandbags, and increase the soil load with steel plates to reduce the impact of explosions.

“The contractor has taken corrective action for the damages to the condominium facilities involved. The contractor is also still identifying the car owners involved,” it said.