Two adult teachers also among the dead after blaze ripped through religious academy in Malaysian capital
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At least 24 people have died in a fire at an Islamic school in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpa.
Emergency crews responded within minutes and the blaze was put out within an hour but it left extensive damage.
The fire at Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah, a “tahfiz” boarding school where students learn to memorise the Koran, was reported
around 5.40 a.m. local time (2140 GMT Wednesday), according to a statement from the Malaysian Fire and Rescue Department.
Officials suspect an electrical short circuit or a lit mosquito repellant coil caused the blaze which broke out before dawn in bedrooms of the two-storey building.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh told reporters that 22 students and 2 wardens were killed. All the students were boys
aged 13-17, and they probably suffocated due to smoke inhalation.
Several of the 18 survivors were taken to hospital to be treated for injuries.
Officials said based on the records of the city’s fire safety department, the school had just submitted a request for fire safety approval for the building
but no checks had been carried as at the request was still being processed.