Fire guts huts, kills one

Fire guts huts, kills one

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: Dozens of squatters' huts and makeshift houses were destroyed and one toddler was killed in two separate fires occurring in the Kertapati subdistrict and in Muara Enim regency on Tuesday.

Firefighter chief Muchtar Subing said he deployed five fire engines to extinguish the fire in Kertapati which destroyed 18 huts and left 50 families homeless. The fire reportedly started when a kerosene stove belonging to a squatter exploded.

Two-year-old Mustaryadi, the fatality in the fire in Muara Enim, was asleep when a kerosene lamp on a table near him was accidentally knocked over, Antara reported. (swe)