22 tahfiz fire victims laid to rest, 11 in common grave

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Family and friends paying their last respects during the burial of one of the victims Muhammad Fahmie Abdullah in Seremban. — Bernama photo

KUALA LUMPUR: The burial of 22 of the 23 victims who perished in the fire at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah religious residential centre in Dato’ Keramat here on Friday night was conducted in a sombre atmosphere with thousands of people sending them off on their final journey.

The funeral arrangement began about 6.30pm Friday after the bodies were brought to the Kuala Lumpur Hospital surau for prayer and then sent to the respective cemeteries decided by the next of kin for the burial at 9.30pm.

The focus was at the Raudhatul Sakinah cemetery in Taman Batu Muda near here where 11 of the bodies, including three siblings, were buried in a common grave.

The three siblings were Muhammad Shafiq Haikal Sulaiman 13; Muhammad Hafiz Iskandar 11; and Muhammad Haris Ikhwan 10, while the others buried with them were Muhammad Taufik Hidayat Norazizan, 16; Muhammad Daniel Md Amin, 14; Muhammad Hazim Ahmad Nor, 13; Muhammad Nizammudin Nasron, 13; Ahmad Harith Adam Mohd Nor Hadi, 12; Muhammad Zatullah Roslan, 11; Amiel Asyraaf Abd Rasid, 11; and Muhammad Aidil Aqmal Mohd Zamzuri,10 tahun.

The fire, which occurred at 5.15am, claimed the lives of 21 students and two teachers-cum wardens.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Muhammad V, visited the site of the fire Friday night and was accompanied by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor , who had just returned home from London after a working visit to the United Kingdom and the United States.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was at the scene on Thursday to render the necessary assistance. At the Muslim cemetery at Jalan Ampang, four of the students were buried. They were siblings Azkar Abiedi F. Zaska, 11; and Azkar Dariemi F. Zaska, 8; and their cousin, Muhammad Afiq Haqimie Hairulizwan, 11, who were buried in one grave.

The other was Nik Muhammad Ridzuan Nik Azalan, 12.

About 300 people, including relatives and friends, attended the burial which ended at 8.10pm.

At the Datuk Keramat Muslim cemetery, which is only about 500 metres from the Tahfiz centre, Muhammad Haikal Abdullah, 12, was buried.

His mother, Hudah Abdul Ghani, 54, said she had not expected that when Muhammad Haikal hugged and told her to take good care of herself last Wednesday was the last meeting with her youngest child.

Meanwhile, the remains of four other students – Muhammad Hasrullah Ismail, 14; Ahmad Rijal Mohammad Rodzi, 13; Muhammad Aiman Ramzanudin, 12; and Muhammad Fahmie Abdullah, 11; were buried in Bukit Kuari, Cheras; Taman Putra Perdana, Puchong ; Taman Medan, Jalan Klang Lama, andParoi Jaya, Negeri Sembilan, respectively.

The youngest victim, six-year-old Umar Al-Khatab Helmi was buried at the Taman Kosas cemetery in Ampang, Selangor.

One of the wardens who perished in the fire, Mohd Yusuf Md, 26, was buried at the Felda Gunung Besout 4 Muslim cemetery in Sungkai at about 9.30pm, while the remains of the other warden, Muhammad Amrul Nizam Sakarno, 25, was scheduled to be buried in Pengkalan Kubur, Kelantan, yesterday.

Six students and a member of the public were injured in the tragedy, regarded as the worst fire involving religious schools. — Bernama