SIBU: A house fire on Jalan Kok Tiong in Sungai Bidut here led to a man and dog being found dead in a drain about 3m from the scene.
A spokesman for the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department operations centre said an emergency call came in at 7.51pm on Wednesday (Jan 15).
A team of 11 from the Sungai Merah fire station was deployed to the scene about 16km away, he added.
"Upon arrival, firefighters found a wooden house engulfed in flames. The fire consumed the entire structure.
"At the time of the fire, no occupants were inside the house," the spokesman said in a statement on Thursday (Jan 16).
He said the fire was brought under control by 8.28pm and prevented from spreading.
However, he added, the firefighters then discovered the body of the 58-year-old man and a dog in the drain nearby.
"They retrieved the bodies and handed them over to the police for investigation," he said, adding that the cause of the fire and the victim's connection to the incident are being probed.
