Fri, 22 Oct 2004

Fire razes a house in Pekanbaru, kills baby

PEKANBARU, Riau: A 20-month-old girl died on Thursday when her parents' house on Jl. Lembah Damai, here, burned down.

Aisyah, a resident of the street, claimed to have seen the blaze in the morning but had not been aware that anyone was inside. It was later discovered that the little girl, Ines Permata, had been trapped in the house.

Ines' father Sulaiman, 42, had left for work and her mother Yuni, 35, had gone to fetch water from a nearby well for cooking. Yuni rushed to the house upon learning of the fire, but it was too late. -- JP