Foul play in school fire under probe
kuala lumpur — Malaysian authorities said on Friday they had not ruled out foul play in a fire that killed 23 children and teachers in an Islamic school, as calls mounted for better safety regulations at religious study centres.
The fire broke out in the boarding school in downtown Kuala Lumpur before dawn on Thursday. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within an hour, but not before it had gutted the centre’s top-floor dormitory.
Horrific accounts emerged of students screaming because they were unable to escape as the dormitory’s only door was on fire and metal grilles barred the windows. Rescuers found the bodies of 21 schoolboys and two teachers in piles, indicating there may have been a stampede.
The fire and rescue department initially said they believed the blaze was caused by an electrical short circuit or a mosquito-repelling device. But Khirudin Drahman, director of Kuala Lumpur’s fire and rescue department, said authorities were now probing claims gas cylinders could have played a role.
One of the survivors said two cylinders were left by the dormitory door and had caught fire, preventing those inside from leaving. “We have not ruled out foul play,” Khirudin said , adding that fires in dormitories were typically caused by unattended cooking or mosquito coils. “The forensic team is doing the laboratory tests. We want to wrap up the results as soon as possible.”