Indonesian Papua market fire kills 11 including 6 children

(Central News Agency, Jayapura, comprehensive foreign news report on the 7th) A fire broke out in a market in Indonesia's easternmost Papua region today. The police said that a total of 11 people were killed, including 6 children.

Agence France-Presse reported that the fire broke out in the town of Paniai in Central Papua. Local police spokesman Henry J. Manurung said that the fire was discovered shortly after 0:00 this morning and quickly spread to many shops.

Henry said in a statement that 11 victims were found during the investigation, of which 5 were adults and 6 were children between the ages of 2 and 9.

The fire continued to burn for more than three hours, and despite the dispatch of fire trucks and water cannons, at least 40 stalls and houses were destroyed.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Henry said: "Due to the intensity of the fire and the close connection between the house and the stall, the fire extinguishing process took a long time."

Deadly fires are not uncommon in Indonesia.

In December last year, a fire broke out in a seven-story office building in Central Jakarta, killing 22 people. Police pointed out that the fire may have been caused by the explosion of a drone battery on the first floor.

In 2023, an explosion occurred at a nickel processing plant in eastern Indonesia, killing at least 12 people. (Compiled by: Yang Zhaoyan) 1150907