A fire at a nursing home on the island of Sulawesi killed more than a dozen people, with three others injured, a local official said.
Firefighters received the report of the blaze at 8.31pm local time on Sunday at a nursing home in the North Sulawesi provincial capital Manado, said the city’s fire and rescue agency chief Jimmy Rotinsulu.
“There were 16 deaths; three (people) had burn injuries,” he said.
Many bodies of the victims were found inside their rooms, Jimmy said, adding that many of the elderly residents were likely resting in their rooms.
Authorities managed to evacuate 12 people – all unhurt – and transfer them to a local hospital, he said.
Footage aired by local broadcaster Metro TV showed the fire engulfing the nursing home, while locals helped to evacuate an elderly person.
Deadly fires are not uncommon in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.
A fire tore through a seven-storey office building in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta this month, killing at least 22 people. — AFP
