A Malaysian woman and her two sons were killed after fire gutted their double-storey terrace house in Kluang, Johor, on Wednesday night (Sept 9).
The victims were identified as Noraini Ibrahim, 49, and her sons Khairul Nurhaziqq Khairulnizam, 18, and Khairul Nurhadiff Khairulnizam, 11, according to The Star.
A distraught Khairul Nizam Wahid, 50, who lost his family, told the New Straits Times (NST): "I would give my life to bring them back."
He had returned home after a drink with his neighbour when he saw the sofa in the living room on fire and tried unsuccessfully to put it out.
He then tried to rescue his wife and sons upstairs, but was forced to leave through the kitchen door when thick smoke made it impossible to reach them.
Noraini later called him after hearing the commotion downstairs, and he told her that the house was on fire but soon he could no longer hear her.
Khairul Nizam said he alerted neighbours, who rushed to help and called the Fire and Rescue Department.
"I did everything I could to save them, but it was too late," he said of his family.
@asiaone Khairul Nizam also shared that firefighters found his sons in an embrace when they discovered their bodies. #malaysianews #malaysia #fire ♬ original sound - AsiaOne
He was later told that his two sons were found embracing each other with their mother next to them.
"I am sad because there will be no one left to scold me. My life is lonely now," NST quoted him as saying.
The couple ran a catering business and were preparing several orders when the fire broke out.
Kluang Fire and Rescue Department station chief Mohd Fauzi Md Nor said they received an emergency call about the fire at about 10.45pm on Wednesday.
"Some 14 firefighters were deployed to the scene, and upon arrival they found that the double-storey house was already about 50 per cent engulfed in flames," he was quoted as saying by The Star.
The fire was brought under control at about 12.30am on Thursday, according to The Sun.
Fauzi said the three victims were trapped inside the house and were later pronounced dead by medical personnel at the scene.
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