9 Houses Burned On Buluh Island Batam, 1 Elderly Died

Fire on Buluh Island, Batam City (ANTARA)

One person was reported to have died from a fire that destroyed about nine houses on Buluh Island, Batam City, Riau Islands on Wednesday, July 19 at around 05.30 WIB. "One person died, female and elderly (elderly), aged around 50 years.

The victim could not escape at the time of the incident," said Taruna Disaster Preparedness Member (Tagana) Bulang Al Ikhsan quoted by ANTARA Wednesday, July 19.

He said Tagana Bulang dispatched a team to help extinguish the fire that scorched about nine houses, and now the fire has been extinguished and is in the process of being cooled. "When the fire broke out, the residents of Buluh Island worked together to extinguish the fire. Only Batam Fire Service officers, TNI/Polri personnel and personnel from ships near the island also helped.

"The watershed took about two hours, because the house was on the edge of the sea and at the time of the incident the sea water conditions recededed, so the water to extinguish the fire was difficult and the ship could not approach," he said.

He said the evacuation process was still ongoing. Local residents also helped provide assistance to affected residents. As for the cause of the fire, said Ikhsan, it is still being investigated by the police. "Because it happened at dawn, many do not know what caused it," he said.