Indonesia Fire Kills 11 Including 6 Children

Jakarta. Eleven people, including 6 children, have died in a fierce fire that broke out after midnight on Monday in Paniai, Central Papua Province, Indonesia. At least 40 shops and houses were destroyed by the fire. The fire started in the market area after midnight on Monday according to local time. The fire, which initially appeared in one area, spread rapidly to surrounding shops and houses. Police said the fire continued for more than three hours despite the use of fire engines and water jets to control it. According to police spokesperson Henri J. Manurung, 11 bodies were found during an inspection of the scene. He said all the deceased had burn wounds. Five adults and six children died. The police said the age of the deceased children ranged from 2 to 9 years. The cause of the fire has not yet been ascertained. Officials said that the investigation is ongoing and efforts are being made to find out how the fire started. Police said that it was difficult for the firefighters to control the fire because the market area and surrounding houses and shops were built very close to each other and densely. Police spokesperson Manurung said that it took a long time to control the fire due to the intensity of the fire and the houses and shops being close to each other. It is estimated that the fire spread quickly from one building to another because the structures were densely packed at the scene. Firefighters tried to control the fire using fire engines and water jets. Large fire incidents have been occurring in Indonesia recently. Earlier, 22 people died in a fire at a seven-story office building in Central Jakarta, the capital, in December.