A steamboat dinner for a Malaysian family of seven turned into a painful affair when the portable gas stove they were using exploded, burning their faces and hands.

The incident happened on March 9 at 7pm at a steamboat restaurant in Temerloh town in the state of Pahang.

One of the victims, Madam Noraini Abdullah, 53, said the incident happened “in the blink of an eye”.

They heard an explosion before the portable stove flew into the air.

“It happened too fast – we didn’t have time to avoid it and everyone was burned by sparks from the stove,” she told Malay daily Sinar Harian.

Madam Noraini, her husband, her four children aged between 29 and 21, and her son-in-law immediately sought treatment at a nearby clinic before returning home.

The next day, they went to another clinic but were referred to a specialist at a hospital where they were hospitalised for four days.

“My husband and my second son have the worst injuries, with burns on their faces and hands,” said Madam Noraini.

“We have to celebrate Ramadan (fasting month) in the (hospital) ward,” Malay daily Kosmo! quoted her as saying.

The restaurant, where the family had dined before without incident, has apologised for the incident.

It said that it had met Madam Noraini’s family twice, on March 11 and 14, and both parties have reached “a consensus for further action”, Kosmo! reported.

The restaurant did not elaborate on the next steps to be taken.

Madam Noraini told the media she has lodged a police report, adding that she hoped such incidents will not happen again. Temerloh district police chief Mazlan Hassan confirmed the report on March 16.

The restaurant said it had also lodged a police report and the Fire and Rescue Department is investigating.

“Our main priority is to ensure that the victims recover fully. Please pray for their speedy recovery so that the case can be resolved appropriately,” it said.

Such steamboat incidents have happened before.

In 2016, seven people in Singapore ended up with burns and scalding on their faces and arms after a gas canister on a table at a hotpot restaurant in Beach Road went up in flames.

In 2022, four people, including two children, were injured when a hotpot cooker exploded in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia’s Sabah state.

A year later, a family in Kuala Lumpur ended up with first- and second-degree burns after the stove exploded.