JAKARTA, Dec 9 — A fire swept through a seven-storey office block in Indonesia's capital Jakarta on Tuesday, killing 22 people.
Central Jakarta police head Susatyo Purnomo Condro told the media that the fire has now been extinguished, and the recovered bodies have been sent to a hospital for identification.
The fire erupted on the first floor at around midday and then spread to the upper floors.
The building houses the office of Terra Drone Indonesia, a unit of the Japanese firm Terra Drone Corporation, which provides drones for aerial survey activities to clients in the mining and agriculture sectors.
He said that some company employees were having lunch in the building at the time, while others had left the office.
Footage broadcast by Kompas TV showed dozens of firefighters trying to evacuate people, and some were carrying body bags from the building. Some employees were seen escaping from the upper floors using portable ladders.
"A police forensic laboratory team has arrived to investigate the cause of the fire.
"Based on information gathered so far, batteries from a drone caught fire, but the cause of the fire, the point of origin, is still being investigated," Condro said, adding that the police would question the business owner as well as the building owner.
In a statement, Terra Drone Co apologised for the stress and inconvenience caused to the local community and customers, and said it was also investigating the blaze's impact on its business.
The blaze comes nearly two weeks after a massive fire swept through a high-rise apartment complex in Hong Kong on November 26. Earlier today, the city's authorities said the death toll now stood at 160.
