The four children who died in the fire that razed a house in Kampung Sabak Awor, here Wednesday night, were believed to have tried to save themselves by hiding in the bathroom in the kitchen.

District police chief ACP Raiz Mukhliz Azman Aziz said in the 7.49pm incident, Puteri Aisyah Tenko To, eight, Mohd Hakim, six, Mustakim, four, and Fatihah Aisyah, three, were found dead inside the bathroom. He said according to neighbours, they heard screams from inside the home.

“They heard screams. (All the victims) were believed to be still conscious when the incident happened and tried to get out of the house. Their initial action was to hide in the bathroom.

“When we arrived, the back door was completely burnt, we could not identify whether the door was locked or not,” he told reporters when met at the scene early yesterday.

However, Raiz Mukhliz said according to the initial statement from the victims’ mother, the house was not locked and she and her husband were not at home during the incident.

He said their father, a 30-yearold Myanmar national, was working at a restaurant, while their mother, a 31-year-old Orang Asli woman, went out for a while to buy iftar food at a nearby shop.

“About 10 minutes later, she (the victims’ mother) got a call from a neighbour who told her that her house was on fire, so she rushed home. But she couldn’t get in because the fire was so intense,” he said.

Raiz Mukhliz said preliminary investigation indicated that the fire was caused by a short circuit and believed to have started from the kitchen of the house.

“The children’s mother said that their house did not have a television or other electrical appliances, but some lights were on. When firefighters arrived, the house was already 60 to 70 per cent destroyed,” he added.

The bodies were sent to the Sultanah Fatimah Specialist Hospital for post-mortem.