Sereal fire victims rebuild homes

JAKARTA: Residents of Tanah Sereal in Tambora, West Jakarta, are building temporary houses to replace their homes, which were gutted by fire on April 17.

"We've been living at the mosque for too long," said Mahendra, 28, while securing the new canvas walls of his house. The fire destroyed three walls and the roof of his small house.

The fire left 337 families or 1,703 people homeless. Police said the fire started when a kerosene stove exploded.

The residents have been living in nearby mosques for the last two weeks.

In October 2003, another fire in a separate neighborhood of Tanah Sereal gutted dozens of houses. It was caused by an electricity short circuit. --Antara