At least 20 dead in Jakarta fire

JAKARTA - A fire broke out at a seven-storey building in Indonesia’s capital on Tuesday, with 20 people confirmed dead, police said.

Police said the blaze started in the early afternoon when a battery on the first floor of a seven-storey office building in central Jakarta exploded and the fire spread to the upper levels.

“As of now, 20 victims have been retrieved, consisting of five men and 15 women,” Susatyo Purnomo Condro, the Central Jakarta police chief, told reporters, adding that one of those killed was a pregnant woman.

Susatyo said most of the victims did not seem to suffer from burns and most likely died of asphyxiation. The bodies were taken to the police hospital for autopsy.

Firefighters are still scouring the scene to find more people possibly trapped inside the building, he said.

The fire has been extinguished and efforts to find more possible victims inside the building continue, Susatyo told reporters.

“Now, we are still focusing on evacuating victims and cooling down the building,” he said.

The building is the office of Terra Drone Indonesia, which provides drones for aerial surveying to clients in the mining and agriculture sectors.

The company is the Indonesian unit of Japan-based Terra Drone Corporation, according to the company’s website.

Video broadcast by Kompas TV showed dozens of firefighters were trying to evacuate the people inside, and some were carrying body bags from the building.

Some workers were also seen escaping from the high floors of the building using portable ladders.

Both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment via email.