BINTULU: Two people, including a 15-year-old boy, were killed after a fire razed a workers’ housing block in Bintulu in the early hours of today.
The victims were found dead at the scene after the blaze destroyed a two-storey block of non-permanent workers’ quarters along Jalan Nyigu.
Firefighters received the emergency call at 1.01am and arrived within nine minutes, but the structure was already fully engulfed.
The fire involved a block comprising 28 units and measuring about 100 by 30 feet. By the time firefighters reached the site, the building had been completely razed.
Four motorcycles were also damaged, three of them destroyed.
Initial reports suggested occupants were trapped as the fire spread rapidly through the timber structure.
Firefighters later recovered two bodies, a 61-year-old woman and a teenage boy, at about 4.20am.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene and handed over to police for further investigation.
The Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department said 16 personnel from the Bintulu Fire and Rescue Station were deployed, supported by two fire rescue tenders and an emergency medical response service vehicle.
Firemen laid two hose lines over 300 feet, drawing water from a nearby river via pumps to replenish the engines’ tanks.
The operation was brought under control at 1.28am, with firefighters remaining on site until 5.30am to ensure the area was safe and to prevent flare-ups.
Police have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire. No official cause has been confirmed.
The case will be handled by the police pending post-mortem and further inquiries.
