22 killed in Jakarta office fire

International

INDONESIAN authoritiesconfirmed that at least 22 people were killed in a devastating fire at a seven-storey office building in Jakarta even as emergency teams continued scouring the site for additional victims and attempting to piece together how the incident unfolded.

Police said the blaze began on Tuesday afternoon while many employees were on their lunch break, catching several workers inside the building before they could evacuate to safety as the flames rapidly spread upward.

Investigators believe the fire was triggered by a battery explosion on the first floor, a blast that quickly ignited surrounding materials and sent flames racing through the structure housing a drone-services company, a report by BBC said.

Jakarta police chief Susatyo Purnomo Condro said most of the victims were women, including a pregnant employee, and early findings indicate that many died from smoke inhalation rather than direct exposure to the flames.

Thick black smoke billowed from the upper floors as firefighters rushed 28 engines and about 100 personnel to the scene, with dramatic rescue footage showing workers being pulled from windows and balconies using aerial ladders.

Officials confirmed that the fire has been fully extinguished, but rescue crews are now concentrating on the higher levels of the building, where heat and debris made earlier entry dangerous and time-consuming.

Susatyo said the sixth floor posed particularly difficult conditions for responders, noting that firefighters reported heavy smoke, unstable flooring, and low visibility hampering their search operations.

Authorities said they are still gathering information about the victims and cross-checking employee lists and visitor logs to determine whether more people may still be unaccounted for.(Xienderlyn Trinidad, USJ-R Comm Intern)