Lit Cigarette Butts Caused 3 People Burned to Death at Hotel Melawai Jakarta

One of the fire victims was successfully evacuated by Gulkarmat officers during a fire at a hotel, Melawai, South Jakarta, Friday (18/8/2023). (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - A cigarette butt that is still burning is suspected of being the trigger for a fire in a hotel in the Melawai area, South Jakarta, Friday 18 early morning, causing three people to die.

"The cause of death is suspected to have been trapped by thick smoke from the second to fourth floors," said Sukur Sarwono, picket officer for the South Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency (Sudin Gulkarmat), quoted by ANTARA, Friday morning.

Sukur explained, the three victims were a man named Hilal (42) and two women whose identities were unknown, then three people were injured, namely two men named Triyana (25), Firmansyah (27), and one woman named Nadia (23).​​​​​​​

Sukur explained that the fire that hit a hotel in the Melawai area, South Jakarta was allegedly caused by a cigarette butt that was still burning and then spread to the items in the room.

"The fire occurred due to cigarette butts in the hotel lobby which is located on the second floor because the building has no ventilation so smoke filled all the rooms on the second and third floors as well," he said.

The fire, precisely located at Jalan Panglima Polim V No.2 RT.01 RW.05 Melawai Village, Kebayoran Baru District, South Jakarta.

He mentioned, his party deployed 20 units of fire engines and 85 personnel to put out the fire.

"The fire report from the hotel was received at 23.50 p.m. Western Indonesian Time (WIB). Then the Gulkarmat team started extinguishing the fire at the hotel from 00.00 a.m. until it finished at 02.40 a.m. WIB," he said.

He added, his party had not yet received exact data on losses due to the fire at the hotel with an area of ​​160 square meters.