Tragedy hit Malaysia on Thursday when some 23 people reportedly died as a religious school was razed.
“Pupils and teachers inside the Islamic study centre in downtown Kuala Lumpur screamed for help as neighbours looked on helplessly,” an online source said.
It added that many of the bodies of the victims were found piled on top of one another, indicating there might have been a stampede as the students sought to escape the inferno, which erupted before dawn.
The report added, “Firefighters rushed to the scene and the blaze was out within an hour but not until it had wreaked havocs.
“The incident will increase the scrutiny of the religious schools known as tahfiz, where many Muslim Malaysians send their children to study the Koran but which are not regulated by education authorities and often operate illegally.”
