Three persons incinerated

MEDAN, North Sumatra: Three family members were killed in a fire that destroyed four houses near Belawan harbor on early on Thursday, police said yesterday.

The police identified those killed as Husin bin Jamil, 26, his wife Ratna Dewi, 20, and their daughter Nuraini, 5, Antara reported.

Police said preliminary investigations suggest that the fire was started by a spilled kerosene lamp. The fire quickly gutted the houses whose roofs were made of straw.

Statistics from the North Sumatra police station show that from January through early November, 24 people have been killed in more than 70 cases of fire. (pan)