INDONESIA MARKET FIRE KILLS 11, INCLUDING SIX CHILDREN

A fire in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region has killed 11 people, including six children, after razing a market and several buildings in Central Papua province.

Police said the fire broke out shortly after midnight in the town of Paniai and quickly spread through several shophouses.

A police inspection later confirmed that 11 people had died from burn injuries, including five adults and six children aged between two and nine.

The blaze reportedly lasted for more than three hours and destroyed at least 40 kiosks and houses despite efforts by firefighters and the deployment of water cannons.

Police spokesman Henry Manurung said the tightly packed buildings and the fire's intensity made firefighting efforts more difficult.

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Deadly fires are not uncommon in Indonesia, where previous incidents have claimed dozens of lives, including a fire in a seven-storey office building in Central Jakarta that killed 22 people in December.