KUCHING, Aug 28 — A six-year-old boy was killed in a fire that destroyed five double-storey houses at the people’s housing scheme at Batu Kawa, near here this afternoon.

Sarawak Fire and Rescue Services Department (Bomba) said the boy, identified as Zayyan Nazeem Zainal Abidin, was believed to have been trapped on the first floor of one the houses.

“His charred remains were found in one of the rooms on the top floor when the firemen doused off the fire about 3.33pm,” the state Bomba spokesman said in a statement.

The remains have been handed over to the police for further investigation.

The spokesman said the Bomba operation centre received an emergency call about 1.20pm from an occupant from one of the five houses.

The caller also reported about the trapped boy.

The spokesman said firemen from Batu Lintang and Padundan stations rushed to the scene and managed to prevent the fire from spreading to other nearby houses.

He said the fifth house was about 20 per cent destroyed in the fire.