M'sia man, 28, rushes into burning house to try & rescue brother, 16, with disability, suffers burns & forced to retreat as flames too intense

A man from Sabah, Malaysia, rushed into a burning house but failed to save his younger brother, who had a disability.

The tragedy occurred at around 3:20am on May 13 in Kampung Torintidon, Jalan Kampung Lampada, in Kota Marudu, reported Berita Harian.

According to The Star, 16-year-old Lorex Sindam was believed to have been trapped in the house and died in the fire.

His 28-year-old older brother, Razani Sindam, suffered burns and had to retreat as the flames were too intense.

Firetruck could not enter village

The Star reported that while waiting for firefighters to arrive, villagers helped to put out the fire and rushed Razani to the hospital for treatment.

Kota Marudu Fire Station chief Debli Mamoi said a team of eight firefighters rushed to the scene about 22km away after receiving the distress call.

According to The Star, their firetruck could only travel 14km into the area, and firefighters had to switch to four-wheel-drive vehicles as the journey to the village continued on a dirt road.

House was completely destroyed

The Star reported Debli said: "When our team arrived at around 4:48am, the wooden house was already completely destroyed."

According to Berita Harian, the house was a temporary structure measuring 78 square metres.

Debli said: “Operations at the site ended at 6:53am after we eliminated all hazardous elements."

Debli added that the site of the fire was difficult to reach due to weak and unstable telecommunications signals.

The cause of the fire is being investigated.