Building on fire near KL Sentral (with VIDEO)

January 18, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 — A fire broke out on a high rise building under construction near KL Sentral here early this morning, but has been brought under control by firefighters.

“kl sentral hotel under construction on fire 8.20a.m,” Twitter user shahrimtamrin posted on the microblogging site.

“Laluan masuk ke KL Sentral dan Brickfields DITUTUP sekarang. Ada bangunan terbakar dpm KL Sentral. Use alt routes,” Effi Obefiend tweeted.

All roads leading to KL Sentral and Jalan Brickfields, including Jalan Travers and Jalan Tun Sambanthan, have been closed to traffic, resulting in a massive pile-up.

It is still unknown if anyone has been hurt in the blaze or how it started.

A spokesman from the Fire and Rescue Department told reporters on the scene that the fire broke out on the unfinished building’s highest floor, and firefighters have managed to put out the inferno.

The spokesman said there were still small fires inside the building and the firefighters were unable to reach them as the staircase did not go all the way to the top.

The building occupies lot 348 Sentral near the city’s main transportation hub.

Transport firm Rapid KL said on Twitter that its LRT trains and bus services that pass through KL Sentral are running as normal.

A 55-second video of the raging fire was uploaded on Youtube by a person going by the name “Atomkinder”.

“I was there and I caught this on my cam at about 7am. 348 Sentral building under construction near KL Sentral caught fire about 4am Wednesday, resulting in roads leading to KL Sentral and Jalan Brickfields being closed to all traffic,” the video clip poster said.