Published on: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 |
The charred remains of Firman Shah, 14, and his sister Nor Rofida, 9, were recovered from the living room of the house by firemen who rushed to the scene in three fire engines after being alerted.
According to their distraught mother, Siti Harisah, 46, she was sleeping in the living room of one of the houses with the two deceased children and another two-year-old daughter when she realised the fire which broke out shortly after 9pm.
She said they had fallen asleep while waiting for her three other children - a son and two daughters - to return home from operating a stall business at Sinsuran in Kota Kinabalu, adding her husband was away in Kuala Lumpur.
She admitted they were using candles then, as there was an exercise on Monday to disconnect power supply to the houses in the squatter colony.
"The fire spread very fast. After grabbing the two-year-old daughter to safety, I tried to save the other two children but in vain," she lamented.
According to her, Firman, a Form Two student, was staying near SM La Salle, while Nor Rofida was a boarding student of a religious school.
The cause of the fire and losses are still being investigated.
Officer in charge of the Tanjung Aru Police Station, Sub Insp. Abdul Samad Samadi, was at the scene to investigate.
