Poor Hypermarket... What A Fuss For Everyone!

Went over to investigate and took photographs of the site... whisking past bystanders and firemen working on putting the blaze out... and they're still working on it as I write this... Police are diverting traffic - preventing drivers from entering the premises...

Noticed some bystanders keep braving attempts to get closer and closer to the fire, hoping to take photographs using their phone camera's and digital cameras to take snapshots of the blaze.

Many just stare at it close range - despite hearing explosive sounds from inside the building; I even overheard people talking about this disaster being much more interesting and far better than the Beijing Olympics... these people have a sad perception of life... worse still, they're eating Roti Canai in a nearby mamak shop while loudly expressing themselves about the whole hoo-hah...

I just don't understand the mentality of bystanders sometimes - they watch the fire like it's some TV programme or something - when small explosive sounds start erupting, they often rush behind one another - and when the explosions die down, they start inching themselves back; trying to get even closer than ever to the burning building! After going around the premises taking shots of the fire from different angles, which took about 10-15 minutes, I return back to the same location only to notice that the same people are still staring at the fire... they hardly ever budge from where they were!

I for one, could not stay long enough as I parked my car on the roadside on the highway which was the only location to park due to the police blockades; preventing drivers that wanted to drive in to take a closer look...

It's apparent that everything inside the building is beyond salvageable. The firefighters ended up taking their sweet time in wiping out the fire... can't really blame them - because with the time they took in fighting the fire, all that's left for them to do - is just to put it out... the cause? It was rumored to be an electrical short circuit... and according to witnesses, the short circuit started from the upper floors... but it's not official so right now, police, firemen experts and insurance companies are working to find the true cause...

Below are more pictures of the incident...

Update: 21 August 2008

I got pictures of the following day after my brother went to check the building premises...

What used to be the front entrance...

Servay's Midsection

Bye Bye Servay...

Pity the workers who are now out of a job... or having to be transferred to another hypermart location elsewhere...

Update: 22nd August 2008
According to the front page of The Borneo Post, The hypermart suffered an estimated loss totalling to about RM30 Million... an official report is still under investigation at the time of this posting... One would start to wonder whether this accident was really an accident to begin with. Some people have rumored it was intentional - due to another Servay Hypermart that was recently established in a nearby district location...