Fire devastates religious school in Kuala Lumpur: 24 dead and 5 injured
The school had not been registered and did not comply with fire safety regulations. The victims tried to escape through the windows, but were stopped by fixed grills. Tahfiz (religious) schools are regulated by the Religious Department, not the Education Ministry. Fear surrounds unregistered schools.
Kuala Lumpur (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah Tahfiz Centre in Jalan Datuk Keramat, in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, was gutted in an early morning fire, killing 24.
In a statement, the Fire Department said that 22 students - all boys aged between 13 and 17 - and two teachers died in the blaze.
A short circuit could be the cause, the police said. Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Amar Singh Ishar Singh explained that the building was occupied by 36 students and six teachers.
Early findings indicate that the school had not registered with the Education Ministry and was not in compliance with fire safety regulations.
“The school also does not have any licence from the local religious authorities,” said Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
Initial investigations found that the victims "tried to escape through the windows but were stopped due to the fixed grilles on the windows,” said Department Deputy Director-General (Operations) Datuk Soiman Jahid.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and the blaze was put out within an hour but it had already spread to the students sleeping quarters. Investigators believe that the fire started near the building’s only entrance, trapping the boys.
All Islamic religious schools must register with authorities and follow fire safety requirements, said Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi after the tragedy.
“Regardless of whether the centre is privately run or not, there will be no compromise as it involves the deaths of many children," he was quoted as saying. “This is not the first time such incident has happened. Hence, this issue must be addressed,” he added.
He urged all privately run religious schools and centres to register with their respective state’s Islamic religious councils.
Tahfiz (religious) schools usually teach students between the ages of five and 18. Such facilities are not regulated by the Education Ministry and fall under the purview of the Religious Department.
Some 519 Tahfiz schools are registered across the country as of April, but many more are believed to be unregistered.
The Fire and Rescue Department had raised concerns about fire safety measures at unregistered and private Tahfiz, and had recorded 211 fires at such institutions since 2015.
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