Five dead after a fire in Palu’s Masomba Market

The Jakarta Post, Palu | Archipelago | Wed, October 24 2012, 3:01 PM

Five people were killed as a result of a fire at Masomba Market in South Palu, Central Sulawesi early on Wednesday.

South Palu Police chief Comr. Saimuda Ali said that the five victims were found under the rubles of the scorched market.

“We haven’t been able to identify the victims seeing how they're severely burned,” he said, as quoted by kompas.com.

The victims’ bodies have been transported to the Central Sulawesi Bhayangkara Police Hospital to be identified.

Rahman, an eyewitness, said that the fire originated from the stalls at the market.

“I saw the fire come from the stalls and it soon engulfed the whole market,” he said.

The fire reportedly started at 3:30 a.m. and was extinguished after three hours. The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

The Masomba traditional market has previously caught on fire multiple times due to short circuits. (han)