Brothers escape through vent, but toddler sister dies
THE three young children were locked in their flat when their mother went to work.
A fire soon broke out in their second-floor shophouse unit in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday at about 1.30pm, reported Harian Metro.
As the fire gutted their house, two of the boys, aged 2 and 4, crawled out to safety through an air-conditioner duct.
But their 18-month-old little sister, Mas Sarimah Zulkifli, couldn't escape and was burnt to death.
The toddler's badly-burnt body was found near a bed.
She was found in a crouching position, with her hands shielding her face.
Neighbour Mohd Hairin Mohd Hassan first ignored the children's cries of 'fire' thinking it was a joke, reported The Malay Mail.
But when he saw thick smoke coming from a unit of the four-storey flat, he realised it was a genuine cry for help.
The 29-year-old bartender rushed out from his unit and saw several men already at the front door of the unit.
He said: 'We managed to break the grille after a few attempts but the two boys, who were inside a room, had already escaped through an air-conditioner opening and they stood on a ledge.
'We also tried to put out the fire using pails of water.
'We didn't know there was another child in the room. If not, we would have saved her,' said Mr Mohd Hairin.
The children are all believed to have been in the bedroom when the fire started.
Witnesses told Harian Metro that a lorry driver, who happened to pass by, saved the two boys by getting them to jump onto the lorry.
It was reported that the children's mother, Madam Sumaliah Embong, 37, was working at a restaurant in Puduraya at that time.
The Malay Mail reported that the mother, a divorcee, had locked her children in the unit while she went to work since the start of Ramadan because their babysitter was not able to look after them during the fasting month.
Madam Sumaliah is separated from her husband.
Two hours after the fire started, she arrived at the scene and cried uncontrollably.
When firemen broke the news of her daughter's death, she was heard wailing: 'There's no way she's gone. Help me sir... My daughter is still alive. She's just injured.'
Too distraught, she declined to speak to reporters.
Federal Territory Fire and Rescue Department officer Mohd Ramali Arbai said the toddler's body was found by firemen. They broke several windows while putting out the fire.
He said: 'At first, they thought it was a doll lying on its chest. They realised it was a girl only when they went closer.
'Her hands were covering her face, like she was in pain.'
'PLAYING WITH SPARKLERS'
She could have died from smoke inhalation. Her body was sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital for post-mortem.
Said Mr Mohd Ramali: 'We are still investigating the cause.'
But the children could have been playing with fire sparklers, reported Berita Harian.
Guang Ming Daily reported that, when asked by rescuers what happened and if they were playing with fire, the older boy pointed to his younger brother.
Dang Wangi police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said police had recorded a statement with the victim's mother.
source:
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