Islamic School blaze in Malaysia kills 22, boys cried out of windows
A blaze at an Islamic boarding school in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia killed at least 23 people on Thursday. Most of them were teenage boys who cried for help from barred windows, officials and witnesses said.
The top floor dormitory in the three storey building caught fire at around 5:40 am. Students aged 13 to 17 were sleeping in bunk beds on the same floor. Two teachers were also killed in the fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, a 15-minute drive from the iconic Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, police said.
Approximately 30 fires at such schools have been reported this year, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Noh Omar said.
"The building was surrounded by metal grills that could not be opened from the inside. The students, after realising the fire and heavy smoke, tried to escape through the window," Soiman said outside the school.
“The children were crying for help, but I couldn't help them as the door was already on fire”an eye witness said.
The dormitory only had one entrance making it difficult for the victims to leave.
Officials were investigating the fire, it was likely due to a short circuit or a mosquito repellent coil, Fire department operations deputy director Soiman Jahid said.
"The pupils all got locked in and they couldn't escape and got burnt," Nadia Azalan, sister of a 13-year-old victim, said in tears as distraught family members gathered outside the building.
"I only managed to save a few of the kids who jumped out the window."Mohd Izzarudin Roslan, 15, said he had broken a window and climbed out on to a water pipe.
-PTC News
