2 sisters, aged 13 & 15, killed in Johor house fire: Mum cries after receiving their belongings from school

The mother of two teenage girls, who died after being trapped in a house fire in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, broke down after receiving their school belongings at their wake.

The victims were identified as 13-year-old Wong Yu Ning, and her 15-year-old sister Wong Yu Jie.

Mother could not stop crying after seeing belongings

Foon Yew High School Johor Bahru principal Tey Mei Chin, according to the New Straits Times (NST), visited the wake on Jun. 2 night, together with members of the school administration, to pay their respects.

Tey said the girls’ mother had asked the school to bring the sisters’ assignments, examination results and other personal belongings from the school to the wake.

Tey said: “After looking through the items, she could not stop crying.”

School to hold moment of silence

Tey added that while it is the school holidays now, it will observe a moment of silence when classes resume in honour of the two students.

The school also plans to provide counselling for classmates who are struggling to cope with the tragedy.

“Before the fire, the sisters were still in contact with their friends and had recently spent time with some of them. The students are shocked and saddened by the sudden loss of their classmates,” Tey said.

Classmates paid their respects

The wake was held at the Pure Karma Buddhist Centre Memorial Hall in Ulu Tiram, NST reported, where more than 20 relatives, friends and schoolmates gathered to pay their last respects.

Several female classmates, dressed in black and carrying bouquets, were seen paying tribute to the sisters.

One student was also seen crying inconsolably while being comforted by a friend, while others folded paper cranes as a symbolic farewell.

Sisters allegedly trapped by window grilles

The sisters died after a fire broke out at a double-storey terraced house in Taman Ehsan Jaya, Johor Bahru.

The two sisters were found unconscious in an upstairs bedroom after the fire spread through their home.

They were later taken to hospital, where they died.

It is believed that they were unable to escape through the windows as metal window grilles allegedly blocked their way, and that they had inhaled too much smoke before losing consciousness.