Fire at Islamic school in Malaysia kills 24

A fire early Thursday at an Islamic school dormitory in the outskirts of Malaysia’s capital killed 24 people, many of them teenagers. Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Amar Singh said victims included two teachers and 22 boys between the ages of 13 and 17. Authorities rescued 14 other students and four teachers. Six of them are hospitalized in critical condition. Senior fire department official Abu Obaidat Mohamad Saithalimat said an electrical short circuit likely caused the blaze, but investigators are trying to pinpoint the exact cause. The fire broke out near the only door to the boys’ dormitory, trapping them in the building. Bars blocked access to the building’s windows. One witness told local media she saw the boys screaming for help. “I saw their little hands out of the grilled windows,” Nurhayati Abdul Halim said. “The fire was too strong for me to do anything.” Noh Omar, Malaysia’s minister for urban well-being, said the school’s original architectural plan showed an open top floor with two exit staircases, but a wall eventually divided the floor, leaving only one exit. Officials had not approved the school’s application for a fire safety permit. The Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah school is one of hundreds of “tahfiz” schools, where students learn to memorize the Quran. The schools are not regulated by the education ministry since they fall under the religious department.