Three dead in Medan hotel fire

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Two men and a woman were found dead in their hotel rooms after a fire gutted a room of the four-story Dirga Surya hotel on Jl. Imam Bonjol here Monday morning.

They were believed to have fallen unconscious in the thick smoke from the fire.

The woman, Meely, 27, of Pekanbaru was found with an unidentified male in room number 218, while the other victim, Sunarto, 26, of Medan was found in room number 216.

Firemen believed that the fire began with a short circuit in the electricity cable panel installed by a table in room number 207.

The guest in this room, identified as Budi, managed to escape from the inferno.

According to the hotel general manager, Maman Tasiman, all of the guests were alerted by his staff immediately the fire was first spotted at 1:30 a.m.

"We believe the three victims were still sleeping soundly at the time," Maman told reporters.

After the emergency telephone calls, Maman recalled, all of the guests of the 60-room hotel left their rooms in panic.

"Everyone panicked. Some of them were seen jumping while some others broke window panes and hastily left the hotel through the emergency exits to save themselves." (21/bsr)