MELAKA: A home-alone 60-year-old woman was found dead in the bathroom, just days after two of her family members were hospitalised for Covid-19.

       Firemen had to break into the victim’s house at Bukit Punggur in Alai here at 8.51am yesterday after calls for her to open the door went unanswered.

       A concerned neighbour contacted the Fire and Rescue Department’s emergency line, fearing for the safety of the elderly woman.

       State Fire and Rescue Department operations chief Zulkhairani Ramli said initial information obtained by his officers showed that the victim’s husband, aged 74, and another family member were still receiving treatment for Covid-19 at the Melaka Hospital.

       Upon being alerted, a team from the Padang Temu fire station was deployed to the scene to check on the victim.

       “We called out to the occupant inside but there was no answer. So we decided to break open the door and search the house.

       “The victim was found slumped in the bathroom,” he said.

       Zulkhairani added that firemen in full personal protective equipment took about 15 minutes to gain entry into the bathroom.

       He said medical workers inspected the victim and declared her as dead on-site.

       “Disinfection work was carried out at the house as a precaution and the operation ended by 11.40am,” he said, adding that the victim’s daughter, who is living in Selangor, has been informed.