11-year-old survivor badly burned, says father

KUALA LUMPUR: An 11-year-old boy has been identified as one of the survivors of the tahfiz school fire in Jalan Keramat this morning.
Businessman Datuk Dr Sharifuddin Musa said his son Shahir Shariguddin is now at the Intensive Care Unit of Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL).
"My son, Shahir Shariguddin has excelled in the school for one and a half years. I saw him at the critical unit," he said. "His back is badly burned."
He said he was informed of the fire by neighbours.
"It was early in the morning during the Subuh prayers when a neighbour told me," he said. "I live nearby and could see the fire spreading rapidly.
"The students were rushed to HKL. One of them claimed there were two gas canister at the third floor. The fire may have been caused by the cylinders.
"It's strange because is fairly new and mantained by Jawi. The building condition is perfect and it was built by the local community there which was then handed to Jawi.
"A student told me they had to scramble out through the window from the third floor and jump on the awning to escape."