Owners perish in Semarang store fire

Suherdjoko, Semarang

A textile shop caught fire early on Wednesday in Semarang, Central Java, leaving the elderly shop owner Theng Han and his wife Karlina dead.

At least 14 workers at the shop on Jl. Wahid Hasyim were able to escape through the backdoor, an officer from the North Semarang Police, First Insp. Untung, said.

The officer said the bodies of Theng, 70, and Karlina, 66, were found near the front door on the first floor of the building.

"Right now we believe the fire was caused by a short circuit in the shop," Untung said.

The fire began at about 2:30 a.m. and was extinguished over three hours later by firefighters who arrived at the scene at about 3 a.m.

The fire burned the roofs of several neighboring buildings, including the Wisma Gordyn building, a gold shop and a dentist's office.

However, firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it could spread and cause serious damage to surrounding buildings.

The fire caused hundreds of millions of rupiah in material damage.

As in other cities and towns across Indonesia, the dry season brings with it an increase in the number of fires in Semarang. At least eight fires have been recorded in the city since this year's dry season began in April.