11 Killed, Including Six Children, in Indonesia Market Fire

At least 11 people, including six children, have died after a fire swept through a market and surrounding buildings in Paniai, Indonesia’s eastern Papua region, police said on Monday.

The blaze started shortly after midnight in Paniai, Central Papua province, before spreading rapidly to nearby shops, homes and market stalls, according to local police spokesman Henry Manurung.

Manurung said officers discovered 11 bodies during an inspection of the affected area. Five of the victims were adults, while the remaining six were children aged between two and nine.

The fire burned for more than three hours and destroyed at least 40 kiosks and houses despite efforts by firefighters using fire trucks and water cannons.

“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,” Manurung said.

Authorities have opened an investigation to determine what caused the fire. Police said the tightly packed layout of the market and surrounding residential buildings hampered firefighters and slowed access to areas engulfed by the flames.

Deadly fires are relatively common in Indonesia, particularly in densely populated communities where closely built structures and inadequate fire-safety measures can allow flames to spread quickly.

The Paniai tragedy follows another deadly fire in Central Jakarta in December, when 22 people were killed after flames engulfed a seven-storey office building. Police at the time said an exploding drone battery on the ground floor was the likely cause of the incident.