89-year-old woman killed in Kota Bharu blaze

A neighbour says she saw the victim waving her hands and shouting for help, but the heat was too intense.

Kota Bharu fire and rescue station operations commander Satyuti Satar said the woman’s home was almost completely destroyed when firefighters arrived at the scene. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 An 89-year-old woman was burnt to death in a fire which destroyed her home near Jalan Tok Guru in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, this evening.

A neighbour said she saw the victim waving her hands and shouting for help.

“The fire was raging at the time, and I saw the victim fall to the lower portion of the house,” Anis Sutrliati Mohamad, who lives about 20m away, said, according to Bernama.

“I could not help because the heat was too intense, so I immediately called the fire department.”

Anis said she was having tea with her cousin at their house when the fire broke out.

Kota Bharu fire and rescue station operations commander Satyuti Satar said they received a call at about 6pm, just minutes after the fire broke out, and dispatched a team of 27 personnel to the scene.

When the fire engines arrived minutes later, they found that 98% of the house had been destroyed.

The victim was confirmed dead at the scene, he told reporters.

Satyuti said the cause of the fire and the estimated losses are still under investigation.

Kota Bharu police chief Azmir Damiri said the case has been classified as sudden death. - FMT