PUPILS who died in a pre-dawn fire at a religious school in Kuala Lumpur today tried to escape from the windows but could not open the grilles, Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said.

“All the windows were barred by grilles and there was only one door (to enter and exit),” he said on a live Facebook telecast by Astro Awani at the Pusat Tahfiz Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah on Jalan Datuk Keramat where the fire occurred.

The bodies were found to the left and right of the building at the top floor, where the windows were, said Abu Obaidad Mohamad, deputy director of the fire and rescue department, who was also interviewed by Astro Awani.

“There is only one door to go in and out and it is in the middle. (Due to the fire) it looks like the children ran left and right to the windows. But the grilles… they are not the type of safety grilles that can be opened,” said Obaidad.

A short-circuit, which happened at the main door entrance, is currently believed to be the cause of the fire, although he said the department is still conducting investigations.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Amar Singh also told reporters that there was only one entrance.

“The door (to the bedroom) was not locked, it was open. But the fire was near the door. So, they ran to the windows but they were not safety windows.”

He said the 21 pupils who died were all boys aged between 13 and 17. Two teachers also died in the fire.

“Fourteen children were saved and four teachers managed to escape,” Amar said.

It is still unclear if the school, located in the Federal Territory, was registered. A spokesman from the Selangor Association of Tahfiz Schools (Pintas) confirmed that the school was not under its jurisdiction. – September 14, 2017.