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Kuala Lumpur school fire kills students and teachers | Kuala Lumpur school fire kills students and teachers |
(35 minutes later) | |
At least 25 students and teachers have died in a fire at a religious school in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur. | |
The fire at the Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah broke out in the early hours of the morning. | The fire at the Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah broke out in the early hours of the morning. |
"The number of confirmed dead are 23 students and two wardens," Khirudin Drahman, director of the fire and rescue department, told AFP. | |
"I think it is one of the country's worst fire disasters in the past 20 years," he said. | |
"It really does not make sense for so many to die." | |
The ages of the students killed were not immediately clear. But Islamic tahfiz schools - where children study the Koran - usually take children aged between five and 18. | |
They often live at the school. | |
Safety concerns | Safety concerns |
Images and videos circulating online appeared to show the entire upper room of the school, where students would have been sleeping, ablaze. | |
Officials said that fire engines were at the site within minutes, and the blaze was put out within an hour. | |
Pictures later in the morning showed charred beds inside the school and scorched windows on the top floor. | |
A number of students were also reported to have been taken to hospital, some suffering from smoke inhalation. | A number of students were also reported to have been taken to hospital, some suffering from smoke inhalation. |
Prime Minister Najib Razak has tweeted his sympathies to those affected while a government minister said the incident should be quickly investigated "so that we will be able to prevent future disasters". | |
"We sympathise with the families. It is one of the worst fires involving so many lives in the capital in recent years, said Loga Bala Mohan, according to AFP. | |
Malaysian authorities have raised concerns about safety measures at unregulated private religious schools. | |
Local media report there have been more than 200 fires at such schools since 2015. |