KUCHING: An elderly man and two women have perished in a house fire at Lorong Bunga Tongkeng, Kampung Gita earlier tonight.
The victims have been identified as Affendi@Pandi Keli, 69; Aneeqa Pandi, 35; and Nor Hasyidah Ajis, 22.
Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) director Datuk Khirudin Drahman when met by reporters at the scene, said the victims are believed to have suffocated due to the smoke.
“The male victim sustained burns on his hands while the other two did not sustain any burns,” he said.
Khirudin added that the victims managed to call their family members for help during the incident.
The fire which occurred around 7pm, had caused total destruction to a double-storey house and five vehicles.
Firemen from Petra Jaya and Batu Lintang stations were promptly deployed to commence extinguishing works after being alerted of the incident.
“They arrived at the scene within eight minutes and found that the fire had spread throughout the house.
“During extinguishing, the team were informed that there were people trapped in the house,” he said.
Once the fire was brought under control, they managed to locate the victims around 8.40pm and brought them out of the house.
All of the bodies were handed over to the police to be taken to the hospital for post-mortem.
Overhaul works are still being carried out at the scene.
The cause of the fire as well as losses incurred is still under investigation.
