Factory boss probed after fire kills 47

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an explosion at an Indonesian fireworks factory that killed at least 47 people.

The remains of a bike after a huge blast at a Jakarta fireworks plant.

A huge explosion ripped through an Indonesian fireworks factory, killing 47 people. (AAP)

Indonesian police say they are questioning the owner of a fireworks factory that exploded into an inferno, killing at least 47 people.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of Thursday's fire at the factory in Tangerang, near the Indonesian capital of Jakarta.

Safety laws are inconsistently enforced or even completely ignored in Indonesia, a poor and sprawling archipelago nation where worker rights are often treated as a lower priority than economic growth and jobs. Most of the factory's 103 employees were young women earning about $4 a day.

"We are now intensively questioning witnesses including the factory owner and manager," said Tangerang police chief Harry Kurniawan.

As investigators tried to piece together what happened, relatives crushed by grief went to a police hospital's morgue in eastern Jakarta to identify loved ones.

Officials said bodies were found piled at the rear of the factory and were burned beyond recognition.

"The condition of the corpses was hard to recognise," said Umar Shahab, who heads the medical and health division of the Jakarta police. "They can only be identified through DNA and dental data."

Survivors told authorities the fire started in a section of the factory where fireworks are dried.

Witnesses heard a huge explosion followed by smaller blasts as orange flames jumped from the building and columns of black smoke billowed across a nearby residential neighbourhood.

Survivor Ahmad Safri said the workers had poor working conditions in a hot warehouse with noisy engines, but he denied the building was locked when the fire spread.

Some 46 injured people are being treated at three hospitals.

The death toll could rise as many of those who escaped suffered extensive burns, according to police.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world