JAKARTA, Dec. 9 — A total of 22 people were confirmed dead after a fire broke out at the Terra Drone office building in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, local authorities said.
Dwi Septianto, a senior official with the information department of the Central Jakarta Fire Department Office, told Xinhua that 29 fire trucks and 101 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the blaze.
“We immediately rushed to the scene after receiving information about the fire at 12:43 p.m.,” he said, adding that the fire was suspected to have originated from a battery on the building’s first floor.
“In that building, lithium batteries for drones are produced. The victims may have inhaled fumes from the burning battery materials,” Septianto said.
He noted that the fire was brought under control at 5:05 p.m. local time and all floors had been checked. Isnawa Adji, head of the Jakarta Disaster Management and Mitigation Agency, said the casualties included seven males and 15 females.
“Twenty-two people are confirmed dead, and 54 others survived the incident.
The number of victims may still change,” he told Xinhua by telephone, adding that 18 personnel from the agency were involved in the evacuation effort.
All the victims have been taken to the Kramat Jati Police Hospital in East Jakarta. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
