Four Children Perish in South Jakarta Blaze

Electrical Fault Cited as Cause of Fatal House Fire

Tragedy struck a South Jakarta residential area early Saturday as a devastating fire consumed three homes, claiming the lives of four young children and leaving two adult women injured.

Devastating Early Morning Blaze

The inferno erupted around 6:21 a.m. on Jalan Kutilang 28 in the Bukit Duri neighborhood of Tebet Sub-district. The victims, identified by initials **PL** (13), **K** (3), **A** (7), and **A** (4), were among 27 residents impacted by the swift-moving flames.

Official Response and Casualties

Syamsul Huda, head of the South Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency, confirmed the fatalities. The bodies of the three girls and one boy were taken to Bhayangkara Police Hospital for post-mortem examination, he stated. The two injured women also received treatment at the same facility.

Firefighting Challenges

An estimated 200 square meters were engulfed by the fire, which required the deployment of 20 fire trucks and 76 firefighters to extinguish. Huda noted that Narrow access roads hampered the firefighters’ efforts to rescue and evacuate residents. The agency cited an electrical short circuit as the likely cause.

Recent Fire Incidents in Jakarta

This incident adds to a concerning pattern of fatal fires in Jakarta. In April 2024, seven people died in a shop-house fire in Mampang Prapatan, South Jakarta. The devastating Plumpang Pertamina Depot fire in Koja, North Jakarta, on March 3, 2023, resulted in 33 fatalities. In October 2022, a mother and her two children lost their lives in a house fire in Pademangan, North Jakarta. Earlier in February 2022, a woman and her two young children perished in a fire that destroyed two buildings in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta.

According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Indonesia experienced 3,275 disasters in 2023, with fires being a significant cause of property damage and loss of life (BNPB, 2023).