Infant among four dead in restaurant blaze<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Four people, including a three-year-old boy,
\nwere killed in a fire which gutted a noodle restaurant on Jl.
\nMangga Besar VII in West Jakarta early Sunday morning.<\/p>\n
All the fatalities were restaurant employees who lived in the
\nfour-story building. The first floor was used for the restaurant
\noperation, named Bakmi Mangga Besar.<\/p>\n
The fire, believed to have been caused by a gas stove
\nexplosion, caused millions of rupiah in material losses. Almost
\nall the furniture and kitchen equipment, as well as clothing and
\nother valuable goods were burned,<\/p>\n
Restaurant cashier Dumaria Hasugian, said identification of
\nthe victims -- Dessiana, 25, Manukar Hasugian, 17 (Dumaria's
\nyounger brother), Agus Hermanto, 26 and his three-year-old son
\nAgus Kristia -- was impossible.<\/p>\n
The restaurant's owner, Jimmy, was unavailable for comment, as
\nhe was reportedly being questioned by local police.<\/p>\n
The blaze happened at 5 a.m. Dumaria said.<\/p>\n
\"The incident started when Agus Hermanto and his son were
\ntrying to fix gas stoves. As one of the stoves was lit, however,
\nit suddenly exploded.\"<\/p>\n
Explosion<\/p>\n
Another employee, Yunus, who was standing outside the building
\nwhen the incident occurred, said he heard a blast from the first
\nfloor and saw flames rapidly spread to the upper floors.<\/p>\n
\"After the blast, I saw my friends' shadows on the third and
\nfourth floors running and screaming for help,\" Yunus, who
\nsuffered minor burns to the face, said.<\/p>\n
Witnesses said one of the victims, Dessiana, better known as
\nDessi, managed to carry one of her boss' children through the
\nfire to safety.<\/p>\n
However, after placing the child outside the building, she
\nrushed into the building, disregarding warnings from bystanders.<\/p>\n
\"No one knows why Dessi insisted on going inside,\" an aunt,
\nElly, said.<\/p>\n
She said her niece had plans to marry and had asked her to be
\nher guardian.<\/p>\n
\"Dessi had no parents. Her father left her mother early and
\nthe mother died of cancer when Dessi was only seven years old,\"
\nElly said.<\/p>\n
Dessi's only younger sister, Meidi, was adopted by relatives
\nwho moved to Australia.<\/p>\n
\"She (Dessi) was a kind and tough girl, who never complained
\nabout anything including her harsh life,\" Elly said.<\/p>\n
Another relative Rudy, said he had frequently warned Dessi not
\nto stay in the shop-house as the Mangga Besar area was not a safe
\nplace, especially for Chinese-Indonesians.<\/p>\n
Rudy said Dessi was not afraid to live in the area, believing
\nthat if she was kind to other people similar acts would be
\nreturned to her.<\/p>\n
\"Near the shop-house, there are gambling dens and
\nentertainment spots, such as massage parlors and discotheques
\nwhich often illegally operate until the early morning,\" Rudy
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He said he had often heard locals issue threats to attack the
\nentertainment spots and gambling dens if they continued their
\nillegal business practices.<\/p>\n
When he heard the shop-house was burned, he assumed the
\ndisaster was the result of a clash between the entertainment
\nspot's business owners and residents.<\/p>\n
\"I was only informed of the truth after my aunt explained that
\nthe fire was caused by an exploding stove.\"<\/p>\n
Rudy said after the post mortem examination was performed,
\nDessi would be buried next to her mother's grave at Petamburan
\npublic cemetery. (emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/infant-among-four-dead-in-restaurant-blaze-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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