76 killed in Bogor market fire
76 killed in Bogor market fire
BOGOR, West Java (JP): At least 76 people were killed in a department store inferno at the Pasar Kebon Kembang market complex on Thursday, authorities confirmed yesterday.
Deputy Chief of Bogor Police Precinct Maj. Dewa Parsana said the death toll at the Ramayana Department Store is expected to increase.
Up to 140 people were reported to be in the building, located on Jl. Dewi Sartika, when the fire broke out at 5:30 a.m., police said. As of late yesterday, after 32 hours, firefighters had yet to extinguish the blaze.
The remains of the bodies, most of them only ashes, were placed in bags and sent to the Red Cross Hospital.
Hospital staff said as of yesterday afternoon they had received 76 bags, but some of them may contain more than one body.
Only seven of the fire victims have been identified. They are Yosi Anggraini, 18, Partini, 22, Nurhasnah, 22, Sarnah, 24, Muslimah, 22, Yanti, 24, and Eki Rostini, 23, Antara reported.
At the morgue, relatives who have missing family members crowded around the entrance, looking confused as to how to identify the bodies. Accessories such as watches and jewelry were the main clues to identity, but hospital staff remained in doubt.
Ramayana spokesman Setyadi Surya said 264 employees were listed for yesterday's morning shift, while employees said 256 shop attendants usually work on Thursday morning.
Only 11 workers have been reported missing so far.
The workers on the morning shift were assigned to check merchandise before the store opened.
Dr. Andikia, who was involved in the rescue team, said there is little chance of finding more bodies.
At 4 p.m. yesterday, Maj. Dewa Parsana, the rescue team leader, decided to call off the search on the third floor, where the bodies were found. The search will resume tomorrow on the second and ground floors.
The fire, believed to be the most tragic in the country's history, might have originated from an electrical short circuit on the third floor, which sells garments, investigators said.
Lt. Col. Zainal Abidin, the precinct chief, said the regional manager of Ramayana, Imam Pranoto, and another manager, Yosef have been questioned. No one has been arrested.
Eyewitnesses and a survivor, Ramayana employee Hendar, said the fire broke out in Blok B on the top floor, which consists of five blocks. The fire destroyed the whole floor and the lower stories.
Antara reported Thursday there were no fatalities, but most papers reported yesterday that 13 people had been found dead by 3 p.m. that day.
The market building was constructed in 1989. Before renovation, the market place was called Pasar Anyar.
Alamsyah, head of the Bogor market authority said earlier that the market had caught fire five times previously. The latest fire was in 1987, Kompas reported.
Firefighters complained of difficulty getting into the building as all corridors were blocked by shops.
They also found that nearby hydrants dry so they had to seek water far from the blaze.
A Ramayana employee told the Post that workers entered the shops through one main door.
A trader, Koswara, said that it is usual for only one door to be open during the stock packing checks which occur every three weeks.
The workers failed to reach the exit when trying to escape from the fire.
"We saw them trapped and some of them tried to jump," Koswara said. Witnesses were prevented from approaching the building during the fire by security people.
The Bogor store is one of 43 outlets in 15 towns, owned by PT Ramayana Lestari Sentosa. The company employs 15,000 workers, mostly female. Led by Paulus Tumewu, the company also owns the Robinson department store chain. Both are aimed at buyers of middle to lower income levels.
In January the Warta Ekonomi business magazine reported that the assets of the Ramayana and Robinson stores reach Rp 400 billion (US$171,16 million), with revenues of Rp 409 billion last year.
Set up as a small store in 1974, the company is listed among 300 top companies by the Indonesian Business Data Center.
Another fire which killed workers trapped in a building occurred in 1987. Twenty-one garment factory workers were killed in the Tambora district, West Jakarta. (04/03/anr/sur)
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