KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian authorities have conclusively identified all 23 victims of Thursday's fire at an Islamic religious school via DNA testing.

The Health Ministry's director-general Noor Hisham Abdullah made the announcement on Friday (Sept 15) via his Facebook page.

"We will meet and inform the parents for further undertakings and closure. I would like to thank Dr Mohd Shah Head of IPFN (National Institute of Forensic Medicine) and his team, plus all parties coming together to assist and facilitate the rapid response and management of this national tragedy.

"We hope and pray this will be the last such incidence and preventive actions must be in place and be the order of the day," he said.

It is learnt that 12 of the victims are expected to be buried at the Raudhatul Salimah cemetery in Gombak on Friday.

The horrific blaze at the Darul Quran Ittifaqiyah tahfiz school in Jalan Datuk Keramat in Kuala Lumpur has sparked outrage and ignited calls for better regulation of such schools.