A Fire at a School in Kuala Lumpur Has Killed 24 People

(KUALA LUMPUR) — A fire that blocked the only exit to an Islamic school dormitory killed 24 people who were trapped behind barred windows, mostly teenagers, on the outskirts of Malaysia’s capital early Thursday, officials said. A government official said a wall separating the victims from a second exit “shouldn’t have been there.” Firefighters and witnesses described scenes of horror — first of boys screaming for help as neighbors watched helplessly, and later of burned bodies huddled in a corner of the room. School employee Arif Mawardy said he woke up to what he thought was a thunderstorm, only to realize it was the sound of people screaming. Firefighters rushed to the scene after receiving a distress call at 5:41 a.m. and took an hour to put out the blaze, which started on the top floor of the three-story building, Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh said. He said there were at least 24 charred bodies, 22 of them boys between 13 and 17, and two teachers. “We believe (they died of) suffocation … the bodies were totally burnt,” he said. Singh said 14 other students and four teachers were rescued, with six of them hospitalized in critical condition. The fire broke out near the only door to the boys’ dormitory, trapping the victims since the windows were barred, fire department senior official Abu Obaidat Mohamad Saithalimat said. He said the cause was believed to be an electrical short-circuit, though Singh said th...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized fire Malaysia onetime Source Type: news