22 tahfiz fire victims laid to rest, 11 in common grave
KUALA LUMPUR: The burial of 22 of the 23 victims who perished in the fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah religious residential centre in Dato’ Keramat here on Friday night was conducted in a sombre atmosphere with thousands of people sending them off on their final journey.
The funeral arrangement began about 6.30pm Friday after the bodies were brought to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital surau for prayer and then sent to the respective cemeteries decided by the next of kin for the burial at 9.30pm. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was at the scene on Thursday to render the necessary assistance. At the Muslim cemetery at Jalan Ampang, four of the students were buried. They were siblings Azkar Abiedi F. Zaska, 11; and Azkar Dariemi F. Zaska, 8; and their cousin, Muhammad Afiq Haqimie Hairulizwan, 11, who were buried in one grave.
The other was Nik Muhammad Ridzuan Nik Azalan, 12.
About 300 people, including relatives and friends, attended the burial which ended at 8.10pm.
At the Datuk Keramat Muslim cemetery, which is only about 500 metres from the Tahfiz centre, Muhammad Haikal Abdullah, 12, was buried.
His mother, Hudah Abdul Ghani, 54, said she had not expected that when Muhammad Haikal hugged and told her to take good care of herself last Wednesday was the last meeting with her youngest child.
Meanwhile, the remains of four other students – Muhammad Hasrullah Ismail, 14; Ahmad Rijal Mohammad Rodzi, 13; Muhammad Aiman Ramzanudin, 12; and Muhammad Fahmie Abdullah, 11; were buried in Bukit Kuari, Cheras; Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong ; Taman Medan, Jalan Klang Lama, andParoi Jaya, Negeri Sembilan, respectively.
The youngest victim, six-year-old Umar Al-Khatab Helmi was buried at the Taman Kosas cemetery in Ampang, Selangor.
One of the wardens who perished in the fire, Mohd Yusuf Md, 26, was buried at the Felda Gunung Besout 4 Muslim cemetery in Sungkai at about 9.30pm, while the remains of the other warden, Muhammad Amrul Nizam Sakarno, 25, was scheduled to be buried in Pengkalan Kubur, Kelantan, yesterday.
Six students and a member of the public were injured in the tragedy, regarded as the worst fire involving religious schools. — Bernama