Huge fire at Petronas gas pipeline in Malaysia injures 33

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A fire at a gas pipeline operated by Malaysia state energy firm Petronas injured 33 people on Tuesday on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur, authorities said.

Six of the injured were sent to hospital, Selangor fire department director Wan Md Razali Wan Ismail told broadcaster Astro Awani.

Operations to try to tackle the blaze are ongoing.

There are people trapped in houses in Kampung Kuala Sungai Baru and rescue efforts are ongoing, Selangor Disaster Management Committee chairman Mohd Najwan Halimi told state news agency Bernama.

Petronas in a statement said the pipeline had been isolated. The Selangor fire department said the blaze has affected homes. 

Images carried by news outlets and footage shared on social media showed a massive fire and a huge orange flame on the horizon with smoke billowing out.  

A large flame rose from a leak in a pipeline that is about 500 m (1,640 feet) long in the town of Puchong, the department said in a statement, adding Petronas has closed the valve on the burning pipeline.

The fire department said it was still investigating the extent of the fire in the residential area.

(Reporting by Danial Azhar and Ashley Tang in Kuala Lumpur; Writing by Xinghui Kok; Editing by Martin Petty and Stephen Coates)