'Raya bike' among 11 motorcycles destroyed in fire

KUALA LUMPUR: A young man's dream of riding his new motorcycle on the second day of Hari Raya day was shattered when 11 motorcycles, including his new bike, were destroyed in an early morning fire at Taman Desa Batu Caves, here today.
"My son was very fond of his motorcycle which was purchased a week before Ramadhan and kept under wraps to be used during the second day of Aidifitri. To fulfill his dream, he had been using his old motorcycle for a week.
"Who would have thought it will be destroyed in a fire this morning. When I and my son woke up we could not do anything to save his new motorcycle," said the father of the young man who declined to be identified when met at the scene.
Another victim, Diana Awang, 29, said she only knew of the fire after hearing a loud explosion at about 6.30am.
"My motorcycle was my only mode of transport, I purchased it in July last year," said Diana who is from Sabah.
Taman Desa Batu Caves residents chairman, Y.Velayuthaam said the people there tried to save the other motorcycles parked along the row of motorcycles involved in the fire.
"We only managed to move eight motorcycles, it was not easy because all the motorcycles were locked and the owners had returned to their villages.
We also tried to put out the fire before the firefighters arrived but the fire spread quickly," he said.
He said three years ago, four cars were destroyed in a fire at the same location and till today it has yet to be determined how it happened or whether it was an act of sabotage.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Fire and Rescue Department said a distress call was received at about 7.08am and firefighters who arrived at the scene took about 30 minutes to douse the fire.
"The fire was extinguished in less than 30 minutes, the cause of the fire is still under investigation," said the spokesman, who did not rule out sabotage. – Bernama