Material Store Fire In Cianjur, 3 People Died Trapped

Officers tried to evacuate the bodies of fire victims from the material store building in Cianjur Regency, West Java Province, Wednesday (17/1/2024). (ANTARA/Ahmad Fikri)

CIANJUR - Rescue workers evacuated the bodies of three fire victims from a material store in Cianjur Regency, West Java, after carrying out rescue efforts for about 12 hours.

According to the Head of the Civil Service Police Unit and the Cianjur District Fire Department, Tedi Artiawan, rescue workers found the bodies of two fire victims on the lower floor of the shop building, one of which was a woman.

"The bodies of the two men were found early Wednesday morning, immediately taken to the morgue of the Cianjur Sayang Hospital," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, January 17.

"While the body of the third victim was found on Wednesday morning, a few meters from the entrance to the shop," he continued.

The bodies of two fire victims were found in a room that functions as a muhala after officers broke into the back wall of the shop which was connected to a material warehouse.

"The first and second victims were found at the location of the prayer room, such as the testimony of witnesses who had seen the last victim, and it was discovered that the female victim was performing the Ashar prayer," he said.

"The body is still in the identification process and will be immediately handed over to the family," he said.

Efforts to find victims of the material store fire in the Cianjur area have lasted for about 12 hours since Tuesday (16/1).

As of Wednesday at around 12.30 WIB, the fire prevention effort was still ongoing.

"Towards the early morning the fire was extinguished, but Wednesday morning the fire grew again because the materials in the store such as tiner, paint, and spirit were still emitting fire so that two fire engines were lowered again to cool down," said Tedi.

Cianjur Police Chief AKBP Azhari Kurniawan said the police were still investigating the cause of the fire that occurred at a material store on Jalan Siliwangi.

"To find out the exact cause, we will involve the West Java Regional Police Laboratory together with the Cianjur Fire Department," he said.