Temporary boys hostel destroyed in fire

Eighty-one students from Sekolah Menengah Agama Kunak were left with only the clothes on their back after a temporary hostel housing male students was ravaged in a fire here, early this morning. Kunak Fire and Rescue Department chief Jaafar Salleh said they received a call at 3.20am before deploying two fire engines, a multi-purpose vehicle and 11 firemen to the scene. "When we arrived at the school, 90 per cent of the building was already burned down," he said when contacted by Bernama today. However, no fatalities or injuries were reported in the incident and the cause of the fire is still being investigated, he said. School teacher Samsiah Baharon, when contacted, said students began staying in the temporary hostel in 2011 after the original building was destroyed in a fire the year before. Bernama was told that students living in the hostel have been directed to return home for the time being.