9-year-old killed in midnight inferno

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Firefighters work on the raging inferno.

Firefighters work on the raging inferno.

Hii’s body is carried from the scene.

Hii’s body is carried from the scene.

A firefighter works to put out burning goods on a truck.

A firefighter works to put out burning goods on a truck.

MIRI: Nine-year-old Ellexustotti Hii died in a fire, which started around midnight yesterday at a double-storey logistics company quarters in Lutong.

The blaze at the wooden quarters is believed to have started in one of the rooms and spread very quickly, including to a lorry laden with goods. Eyewitnesses said when the fire broke out, Hii’s father had immediately brought two of his other children out of the quarters to safety.

“At that time, his wife was clutching their eight-month-old and trying to find her way out. Luckily her husband managed to find her,” one eyewitness told The Borneo Post at the scene.

The father, who is a lorry driver, then attempted several times to enter the quarters to save Hii but was stopped by the intense flames. Three fire engines with 15 firefighters from the Lopeng Fire Station were mobilised to the scene after receiving a distress call around 12.51am.

Hii’s charred body was found inside his room. The body was taken to Miri Hospital for a post-mortem. In total 35 residents were made homeless by the fire, which destroyed 12 rooms. The actual cause of the fire and total loss have yet to be determined.