Mum And 2 kids died in blaze pictures

A MOTHER and her two young daughters died in a fire that razed their home in Seri Kembangan here, early yesterday.

The woman was found on top of her youngest daughter, suggesting that she was trying to shield the child from flames while the other daughter was found beside them.

The charred remains were identified as Vietnamese Huyah Thi Ngoc Thao, 30, Yap Siew Yee, 5, and Yap Siew Yoon, 6.

Huyah's husband, 43-year-old Yap Yao Chong suffered from 50 per cent burns and was rushed to Serdang Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

The hawker was found outside the room where his wife and children were found.

There were two others in the house at the time of the fire. One was Lam Thi Bic Phutong, 16, believed to be Huyah's sister and an unidentified woman. Both escaped unhurt.

It was learnt that Yap and his family had lived in the two-bedroom terrace house along Jalan SK6/1 for about 10 years.

A neighbour said that she heard Yap and his wife quarrelling on Thursday night.

"We don't know what it was about, but it was obvious that there was a row going on," the neighbour said.

Another neighbour, Yu Lai Di, 78 said she was alone at home when the fire broke out about 2.30am.

"I woke up to go to the toilet, but someone banged at the front door, shouting to me to get out of the house."

Yu said that she was still in shock, but was thankful that she had escaped in time as the fire destroyed her living room and two motorcycles in the porch.

Selangor Fire and Rescue Department assistant director of operations Mohamad Sani Harul said the cause of the fire was still being investigated.

"We got the fire under control in about 12 minutes, but by then it had damaged two houses.

District police chief Superintendent Abdul Razak Elias said the case was classified as a sudden death report pending forensics and post-mortem reports.