Pre-dawn blaze leaves two elderly siblings dead
PETALING JAYA: An early morning fire here left two senior citizens dead and one man injured.
Brother and sister Ahmad Lokman Abdul Manan, 73, and Rohani Abdul Manan, 89, died during the fire in Jalan SS2/4.
According to district OCPD Asst Comm Mohd Zani Che Din, firefighters found the bodies of the two victims not long after they arrived at the scene at about 4am yesterday.
“One was found near the toilet upstairs and the other in the kitchen. The source of the fire is still under investigations.
“However, according to forensics, the fire could have started from an electrical source,” he said.
ACP Mohd Zani added that there were no signs of foul play as of now.
The deceased’s nephew, Rosli Duaji, said both of them had lived in the neighbourhood since the 1970s and were well-loved residents there.
Rohani was looking after Ahmad Lokman, who had light mental disabilities, he added.
“My uncle, who was called Pak Busu by residents here, volunteered to clean up the mosque every week.
“He always greeted neighbours with a smile,” Rosli said.
The 25-year old survivor, identified as Zain Ariff Zulkifri, is the grandnephew of the two deceased.
While he was too distraught to speak to the media when met at the mosque nearby, his cousin Nurul Jameela told reporters that Zain was slightly injured.
“When he woke up, he heard someone shouting his name but all he saw was smoke when he opened the bedroom door.
“He climbed down from the balcony to safety and tried to run back into the terrace house to rescue the two, but the smoke was already too thick then,”she said.
Nurul added that Rohani had difficulties walking, but most probably thought that the toilet was the safest spot to hide in fire.
A resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said neighbours tried to put out the flame after calling the fire department and ambulance.
“I grabbed my house hose and joined the rest to try and put out the fire, but when we contacted the fire department again, they asked us to stop because they were worried it was an electrical fire,” he said.
He added that the deaths were a huge lost to the neighbourhood.