Fire severely injures 2 brothers

JAKARTA (JP): Fire razed a musholla (prayer house) in Pekong, Balaraja district, Tangerang, on Saturday night, leaving two brothers suffering severe burns.

Muhammad Toha, 17, and his brother Nirza, 9, are being treated separately at Tangerang General Hospital and Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta respectively for severe burn injuries.

Nirza suffered 90 degree burns, including his face. Until Sunday evening, he was still unconscious.

His elder brother, Toha, was in a slightly better condition.

"Toha is suffering injuries to his face, legs and hands. But he is still conscious," Udin Suadma, 25, a neighbor, said.

Udin said Toha's injuries occurred while the teenager was attempting to rescue his younger brother from the burning musholla.

"Toha broke down the mosque's bamboo walls as the door was locked from the inside. Nirza was sleeping alone inside," he said on Sunday at Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital.

Yuni, the mother of the two, said Nirza often slept in the prayer house.

"He often slept there to avoid quarreling with his brothers and sisters about sleeping positions," said the woman, in her forties, of nine children.

Udin said the fire was probably triggered by a short circuit.

"The fire apparently started from a lamp that hangs from the musholla's ceiling." said Udin.

"The musholla was constructed from flammable materials, including wood and bamboo."

The 18-square-meter building, located a few meters away from the two brothers' house, was usually used by Haji Taheli, the brothers' father, for giving Koran classes to local residents. (asa)