Nine bodies retrieved in Indonesian shopping mall fire
Jakarta: Rescuers on Tuesday retrieved the body of a victim killed in a shopping mall fire in the Indonesian city of Jakarta, bringing the total number of deaths to nine, according to the city’s disaster mitigation agency.
The body was discovered at around 2 pm local time in a karaoke room on the eighth floor after six days of searching. The victim has been sent to the police hospital for further identification, along with the other victims, said Jakarta Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesperson Mohamad Yohan.
The blaze broke out at Glodok Plaza on Wednesday evening last week in the densely populated Tamansari sub-district. Many visitors were in the mall at the time. The fire, suspected to have originated on the seventh and eighth floors, was fully extinguished by Friday.
Meanwhile, the city administration announced plans to evaluate the safety standards of Glodok Plaza in response to the incident, Xinhua news agency reported.
As many as five bodies were evacuated on Friday, also from inside the karaoke room on the eighth floor.
West Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency chief Syarifudin had told reporters that search efforts were hampered by many partitions and large areas of the shopping mall.
The area was very large, and the roof collapsed, making the area closed. Room partitions and cables made it difficult for search efforts, he said.
Initially, it was reported that seven people went missing after the fire broke out.
The city’s fire department had deployed over 40 fire engines and 200 firefighters to combat the fire.
Rescuers were deployed to search the seventh and eighth floors, believed to be the last known locations of the missing individuals, in the entertainment areas suspected to be the fire’s point of origin.
Police have said that it will take several days to identify the victims and that an investigation into the cause of the fire is still ongoing.