KOTA KINABALU: A fire destroyed a double-storey hostel of the Tarbiyatun Nisa ‘pondok’ school in Kampung Marabahai, Tuaran, today.
No one was injured in the blaze which occurred at 6.55 am, said Tuaran Fire & Rescue Station chief Abdul Qawie Abdul Gapar.
He said the station sent nine firefighters in two trucks to the school after it was alerted at 6.58 am and they put out the fire by 7.38 am.
Hostel manager Ustazah Aishah Abdul Halim said several students spotted the fire when they were returning from the surau to the hostel after the morning lecture.
Forty-one students, aged between seven and 26, stayed at the hostel, she said, adding that they were from poor families from across Sabah.
Aishah said seven students experienced breathing difficulties as they were in the hostel at that time, but their condition had improved.
She said the school, which had been operating since Sept 1, 2016, applied for registration in 2017 but had yet to get the approval of the relevant authorities.
“For now, the students whose families live far away are being housed at the surau,” she said. – Bernama
