Firefighters trying to extinguish the fire that engulfed the upper story of Glodok Plaza on Jan 15, 2025, in Taman Sari, West Jakarta. - Antara
JAKARTA: Rescue teams continue to search for six victims who are still missing after a massive fire last week engulfed the upper floors of one of Jakarta’s oldest shopping malls, Glodok Plaza in West Jakarta.
A total of 14 people were reported missing in the devastating incident but as per Monday (Jan 20) rescuers had only located and recovered the bodies of eight victims.
Acting Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency chief Satriadi Gunawan said the search and rescue operations were hampered by debris caused by the fire.
"The entire ninth floor collapsed, leaving a massive heap of iron and concrete debris on the floor below. This made it difficult to clear the area and search for the missing victims," he said on Sunday, as reported by Kompas.
The Jakarta Police's Disaster Victim Identification team stated that the rubble poses a significant risk to rescuers, with the possibility of the floor collapsing at any moment.
Despite the risk, authorities said they would continue the search and rescue efforts for the missing victims.
The building manager of Glodok Plaza, Angga Aditya, said he had deployed 50 employees and security officers to help rescuers and the police clear debris at the shopping mall.
"They are equipped with proper personal protective equipment and will focus on clearing large debris, particularly on the lower floors that were not affected by the fire," Angga said.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jauhari, the husband of one of the missing victims, expressed hope that rescuers would continue their search for his wife, 29-year-old Ade Aryati, who worked as a cashier in the mall’s nightclub.
"I know the upper floors of the building are filled with debris, but I hope the rescue teams keep searching until they find all of the missing victims," he said.
Police said the blaze started in a room on the ninth floor of the mall at around 9.30pm and spread rapidly throughout the eighth and seventh floors of the plaza.
The city’s fire and rescue agency deployed more than 47 fire trucks and 200 personnel to the site and managed to extinguish the blaze 12 hours later.
Authorities said that the fire suppression efforts took a while because of the large area affected and burned electronic products.
Glodok Plaza is known to be Jakarta’s top hub for selling electronics. The Jakarta Police is still investigating the cause of the blaze. - The Jakarta Post/ANN