Witness heard cries for help from tahfiz centre

The cries for help from Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah students haunts the memory of Shahirman Sharil , who witnessed the fire which broke out at the religious school at Jalan Keramat Ujung here early today.

Shahirman, 39, who lives nearby the tahfiz centre, said it was about 5 am when he heard the students crying for help.

"It was still dark outside, but I could see the third floor of the tahfiz centre was ablaze. With the help of nearby resident, I helped to bring out the students.

"As for those on the third floor, we told them to jump and we waited to catch them. Soem of them already suffered burns.

"We did whatever we could before the firemen arrived," he told Bernama when met at the scene.

As of 10.30am, 23 people were reportedly killed in the fire at the tahfiz centre.

According to a Kuala Lumpur Fire and Rescue spokesman, six students and a member of the public were also injured in the incident.

-- BERNAMA