ALOR SETAR: Three people have died in a fire at a karaoke outlet in Jalan Putra Mergong here.

       State Fire and Rescue deputy director Syufa'at Kamaron said the department received a distress call at 10.19am on Friday (April 22).

       A team of firemen from the Alor Setar and Jalan Raya fire stations were sent to the location.

       "The dead have been identified as Kim Mei Kit,31, Mark Barry, 32, and Jeffrey Tan Yan Wei, 30," he said.

       Syufa'at said the department believed that the victims died from smoke inhalation after they were trapped during the incident.

       He said all the victims were found on the ground floor of the two-storey building.

       He said initially there were 11 people inside the outlet when the fire broke out, but eight managed to escape.

       "At first we faced difficulties in finding the victims because of the numerous karaoke rooms at the centre.

       "After the owner briefed us on the layout, we managed to find all the victims," he added.

       He said the three victims were pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.

       The cause of the fire is being looked into by the Fire and Rescue Department's forensic investigators.