One Foreign Man Dead, 11 Rescued In Shophouse Fire

KUALA LUMPUR, May 12 (Bernama) -- A foreign man died while 11 others were rescued in a fire at a three-storey shophouse on Jalan Tun H.S. Lee here early this morning.

The Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue Department operations centre said it received an emergency call via the NG999 line at 2.13 am and dispatched a team to the scene.

In a statement, operations commander Azrul Khairi Abu Bakar said 45 personnel from the Jalan Hang Tuah Fire and Rescue Station, with assistance from the Titiwangsa, Pudu, Sentul and Sri Hartamas stations, were deployed to the premises.

“Upon arrival at the scene at 2.25 am, firefighters found that the fire involved a shophouse measuring 15 by 70 square feet, destroying about 50 per cent of the structure on the ground and first floors.

“The swift action of firefighters rescued 11 foreign nationals, comprising nine men and two women. However, another male victim was pronounced dead by a medical officer from the Ministry of Health,” he said.

Azrul Khairi said firefighters used ladders to rescue four men trapped on the second floor, as well as two men and a woman who were on the roof of the premises.

He said all 11 survivors were sent to hospital for further treatment after the fire was fully extinguished at 5.10 am.

The cause of the fire and the extent of losses are still under investigation.

-- BERNAMA