Indonesia market fire kills 11, destroys 40 buildings

At least 11 people, including six children, have died after a fire swept through a market and adjoining buildings in Indonesia’s Central Papua province, police said.

The blaze broke out shortly after midnight on Monday in Paniai and rapidly engulfed nearby shops and residential structures, according to local police spokesman Henry Manurung.

Firefighters battled the flames for more than three hours, deploying fire trucks and water cannons, but the intensity of the fire and the close arrangement of the buildings hampered efforts to contain it.

At least 40 kiosks and houses were destroyed in the inferno.

Police said officers discovered the victims during an inspection of the affected area after the fire was brought under control. All 11 had suffered fatal burn injuries.

“During the inspection, officers found 11 victims who had died with burn injuries. Of the 11 victims, five of them were adults, while the other six were children,” Manurung said in a statement.

The children were between two and nine years old, he added.

Manurung said the tightly packed arrangement of the houses and market stalls contributed to the difficulty firefighters faced while trying to extinguish the blaze.

“The intensity of the blaze and the fact that the houses and stalls were all packed tightly together made the firefighting process take quite a long time,” he said.

The cause of the fire had not been established as authorities continued their investigation.

Fatal fires are relatively common in Indonesia, with several deadly incidents recorded in recent years.

In December, 22 people were killed when fire swept through a seven-storey office building in Central Jakarta. Police said an exploding drone battery on the ground floor was the likely cause.

Earlier, an explosion at a nickel-processing facility in eastern Indonesia killed at least 12 people in 2023.

AFP