Earlier this morning, a fire broke out at the southern side of the Mid Valley Megamall, which started from a TNB substation and spread to the upper levels of the section. Since then, the entire mall has been closed down and evacuated, but it seems that the event also spread to NU Sentral, the mall connected to the transit hub KL Sentral.
NU Sentral was closed off to the public around 1 PM, experiencing a total blackout with security staff evacuating all retail workers and patrons. The management of the mall confirmed to Lowyat.net that the blackout was caused by the TNB substation fire at Mid Valley, and could not estimate when the mall would be reopened.
Oddly enough, while the mall was affected by the blackout, KL Sentral itself seems to be operating as per usual. Those wanting to enter NU Sentral to cross through to the transit hub won’t be able to do so; instead, they will have to find their way through the side of the building.
According to some reports, KL Sentral did experience a temporary power supply cut, but TNB put out a statement that the incident was unrelated to the substation fire. It explained that it was due to a different power supply issue, but did not elaborate further.
As of writing, there are still authorities on the scene at Mid Valley, with both TNB and the Fire and Rescue Department investigating the cause of the fire. The department’s operations commander, Wan Mohd Sharir Asizi Wan Said, said the fire was put out completely at 12.44 PM.
“The five involved the main intake substation to TNB transformer room at Mid Valley with an area of 40×40 square feet, and approximately 70% has been destroyed,” explained Wan Mohd. In related news, GSC announced full refunds for those who bought tickets for cancelled showings at its Mid Valley and The Gardens Mall branches.
