Witness Recounts Harrowing Moments Before Two Perished In Telok Air Tawar Blaze

BUTTERWORTH, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- A witness to the tragic blaze that claimed two lives at Taman Rathna, Telok Air Tawar, this morning said she had tried everything she could to rescue the victims, but the fire spread too rapidly for her to reach them.

S. Suppamal, 52, said she was at a temple nearby to meet a friend at about 8.30 am, when she was alerted by neighbours who shouted that a house in the area was on fire.

She immediately ran to the house and climbed over a neighbour’s wall because the main gate was locked.

“Amid the chaos, with thick smoke and spreading flames, I managed to break the sliding door using an umbrella, but I couldn’t unlock the grille.

“At that moment, I heard a woman shouting for help, only once, before the voice faded. I then rushed to the back of the house, but I couldn’t enter because the fire was already too intense and had destroyed most of the house,” she said when met at the scene.

Suppamal, who is a member of the People’s Volunteer Corps (RELA), said that she saw a man in his 20s shaking the grille door forcefully through the smoke, but was unable to open it.

She said she is deeply saddened that she could not save the victims, despite using her skills as a RELA member, as the situation was extremely dangerous.

In the house fire, Hayani Yaakob, in her 50s, and her adopted daughter, Andra, aged five, died, while her son, Daniel Quyum Kamarozlan, in his 20s, was injured when part of the roof collapsed.

Meanwhile, Hayani’s ex-husband, Kamarozlan Muhammad, 57, said that he learned about the incident after receiving a call at about 10.20 am from their eldest daughter, Nini Quraisha, 27. He initially thought it was just a small fire and told her to head to the location first.

“When I arrived, I found out that my ex-wife had died along with her adopted daughter. The last time I saw her was last Friday, when I delivered food, groceries and cat litter,” he said.

Kamarozlan said his ex-wife had been renting the house for more than five years, and lived there with their youngest son and her adopted daughter.

He added that, although he and his ex-wife had been divorced for over 10 years, they were still friends, and he would visit the house once or twice a month to deliver food.

Penang Fire and Rescue Department (JBPM) director Mohamad Shoki Hamzah said the department received an emergency call at 9.41 am.

He said the bodies of the victims were found in the living room near the main entrance, while Daniel Quyum was found near the kitchen door and was taken to Seberang Jaya Hospital (HSJ) for treatment.

-- BERNAMA