Penang fire and rescue department director Shoki Hamzah said the body was found near the building’s exit after the blaze was put out at about 11.15pm.

“He appeared to have been trapped while trying to escape,” Bernama reported Shoki as saying.

He said the entertainment centre in the building was not open for business because it was undergoing renovation.

Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow thanked firefighters and emergency teams for their rapid response in safeguarding nearby residents and property.

“I was told that firefighters acted swiftly to control the blaze in a short time, successfully stopping it from spreading to neighbouring buildings, including those in Jalan Sri Bahari,” he said in a Facebook post.

The firefighters were despatched after an emergency call at 8.50pm. Upon arrival, they found the fire already raging, involving a two-storey nightclub called Midnight Black, housed in the former cinema building.

The Odeon, which dates back to the early 20th century, screened Hollywood classics and Malay films throughout the 1940s to the 1960s. It closed around 1999-2000 and remained vacant for a few years before being revived to screen mainly Tamil movies.

The final screening was reported to be in July 2014, and the building was later turned into an interactive museum, cafe and nightclub.