TAWAU: A 63-year-old grandmother waded through mud and rising seawater to save her two grandchildren when their house was among 700 razed in a fire at a water village in Kampung Kurnia Jaya here.

       Almah Puyung said she dozed off due to fatigue but was awakened by her neighbours’ shouts.

       “I did not think of anything else except carrying my six-month-old and one-year-old grandchildren to safety,” she told Bernama.

       She lost everything in the blink of an eye in the house she had lived in for more than 15 years in the incident on Thursday.

       Another resident, Normah Kapala, 56, who is suffering from fifth-stage kidney failure and is unable to walk, was saved by her son, who carried her from the burning house.

       “My daughter-in-law rescued my daughter, who is asthmatic and unable to walk, along with her oxygen cylinder.

       “We were unable to save anything except the oxygen cylinder.

       “I have another child who is disabled but was rescued too. We have suffered a test but I am glad we are all safe,” she said.

       Meanwhile, Abdullah Ahmad Naning, 54, said he and his wife jumped into the sea to save themselves as all the bridge paths were destroyed in the blaze.

       Dewan Kampung Hidayat in Batu 4 had been made a registration centre for the affected fire victims and as at 10.30am yesterday, the Social Welfare Department recorded 44 fire victims from 11 houses seeking assistance.

       The secretariat of the Sabah Civil Defence Force disaster management committee, in a statement, said it had estimated that there were more than 1,000 fire victims and assistance was being provided, including temporary shelter.