5 Bangladeshis, Indonesian Woman Die In Fire

KUALA LUMPUR – Five Bangladeshi men and an Indonesian woman died in two separate fires in Taman Puchong Perdana and Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, here early this morning.

In the incident at Taman Puchong Perdana at 3am, the five Bangladeshi nationals, including two brothers, died when they were trapped in the double-storey terrace house they were renting.

The five Bangladeshi nationals who died were Sarova Baboo, Ruman, Abdullah Al-Farhad and the two brothers, Md Basir and Md Farouk, aged between 24 and 40, Selangor Fire and Rescue Operations Head, Mohamad Sani Harul, told reporters here today.

He said seven Bangladeshi nationals were staying in the house but two of them managed to escape while the other five were trapped in two rooms upstairs as they could not open the iron window grilles to get out.

One of the survivors, M.D Rubel, 27, said he was sleeping in the room downstairs while the other survivor, Bilal Hussin, was sleeping in the lounge.

“I was awakened from sleep when I felt warm, and when I opened the room door, I saw a big fire on the ground floor. I tried to rescue my friends who were in the rooms upstairs when I heard them shouting for help, but the fire on the staircase was too big and I could not go up,” said Rubel who injured his foot while trying to escape.

He said two fire engines from the Puchong and Subang Jaya Fire and Rescue Stations together with 15 personnel managed to put out the fire within 15 minutes after receiving the fire report at 3.15am.

Meanwhile, Subang Jaya OCPD, ACP Yahaya Ramli when met at the scene said the fire was possibly caused by a short-circuit on the ground floor.
He said the bodies of the five victims had been sent to Serdang Hospital for a post mortem.

Meanwhile in Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh, Indonesian national, Asna, 55, who was working in a coffeeshop, died when the single-storey plank house occupied by the coffeeshop workers in Jalan Welfare caught fire.

The owner of the coffeeshop that operates 24 hours daily, P.Tharitheran, 66, said he and his son were in the shop next to the house when they saw smoke coming from the house.

“There were two Indonesian women working for me who were sleeping in the four-room house. After seeing the smoke, I shouted to them to get out of the house. But I only saw one of them rushing out,” he said when met at the scene.

Tharitheran said he was later informed by Yehani, 50, that Asna, who was married and had three children, refused to get out as she was busy trying to douse the fire.

Mohamad Sani said two fire engines from the Sungai Buloh Fire and Rescue Station together with 12 personnel were rushed to the scene and Asna’s body, which was found in the bathroom, was taken to the Sungai Buloh Hospital for a post mortem. – BERNAMA

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