Police investigate fire that kills mother and son

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Police are investigating the cause of a fire that killed a mother and son on Thursday evening, city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said.

"We have sent officers there to find out what really happened. We have not named anybody a suspect yet," Tjiptono told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

A mother and son, identified as Sitia, 47, and Firdaus, 26, died in a blaze that razed their motorcycle repair shop in Pasar Manggis, Setia Budi, South Jakarta on Thursday evening.

According to witnesses, the fire started from the victims' workshop and spread quickly to other shops in the vicinity.

At least four other shops, including a herbal medicine shop, instant noodle shop and clothing shop, were destroyed in the fire.

"Several residents saw the fire start from the workshop and then spread to other shops," Sudarto, an official at Pasar Manggis subdistrict office, was quoted as saying by Kompas Cyber Media.

The fire started at 8:30 p.m., and in only about 15 minutes the fire had razed all the shops linked to the workshop.

Several minutes later, firefighters arrived, and with the help of local residents they managed to extinguish the fire completely at 9 p.m.

The two victims were immediately taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta for an autopsy.

Another witness, who declined to be identified, said the fire could have been caused by a short circuit as the circuit was overloaded causing the wires to burn.

Tjiptono said police would use the information as a starting point for further investigation.

"We are open to any possibility as the investigation is still in progress," he said.