In a statement, the ministry said there were numerous comments about the supposed deaths.

“However, we would like to emphasise that we did not receive any reports, either from public healthcare facilities or private ones, of such casualties,” it said.

The ministry also said it had informed internet regulator Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission of these claims circulating on social media.

“Stern action will be taken against those spreading such fake news,” it said.

The police report lodged by the ministry comes a day after Selangor police dismissed online allegations that authorities were concealing fatalities linked to the pipeline blaze.

Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the claims were baseless and that police had nothing to gain from hiding information from the public.

The Petronas gas pipeline fire saw flames rising more than 30m with temperatures reaching 1,000 degrees Celsius. It took almost eight hours to extinguish the fire.

According to the health ministry, 38 of the 146 victims are still undergoing treatment, 18 of them at government hospitals and the remaining 20 at private healthcare facilities.