Four killed fighting wildfires in Indonesian national park
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They were overwhelmed while battling flames on Oct 15 in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Four people died and two were badly burned while fighting wildfires in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java, after being trapped by flames and thick smoke.
- Indonesia is facing a months-long fire crisis, with satellite hotspots rising to 799 nationwide from 372 a day earlier, mainly in Central Kalimantan and south Sumatra.
- Smoke has caused unhealthy to hazardous air in parts of Sumatra and Kalimantan, and has slowed water-bombing and cloud-seeding efforts, with concern for Tanjung Puting National Park and its orangutans.
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JAKARTA – Four people have died fighting wildfires in a national park on Indonesia’s Java island, the Forestry Ministry said on Oct 16, as the South-east Asian country battles a months-long crisis of blazes and toxic smoke.
The four were overwhelmed while battling flames on Oct 15 in Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java, a ministry statement said, without further details on their identities.
Two others suffered serious burns.
Two of the dead were national park officers and two were security guards helping them, according to national park spokesman Endrip Wahyutama.
They had been trapped by flames and thick smoke. Three died at the scene, and the fourth died later in hospital.
A volunteer firefighter and a security guard from a nearby hotel who jumped in to help were receiving medical treatment, said Endrip.
“This incident serves as a reminder that forest and land fire extinguishing is a high-risk operation,” said the ministry.
It said there had been a jump in hot spots detected by satellites, but these do not necessarily translate into individual fires. By the evening of Oct 15, the number of hot spots stood at 799 nationally, up from 372 a day earlier.
Most were in Central Kalimantan, a province on Borneo island that Indonesia shares with Malaysia and Brunei, followed by the south of Sumatra island.
“Central Kalimantan recorded the largest increase (in hot spots), so field operations are being strengthened,” said the ministry.
The ministry expressed particular concern about an area around Tanjung Puting National Park, an important habitat for endangered orang utans.
Water-bombing and cloud-seeding operations to induce rain have been hampered by low visibility caused by smoke from the fires, it added.
The ministry said several locations in Sumatra and Kalimantan were experiencing “unhealthy to very unhealthy conditions, even locally hazardous” because of the haze from the blazes, turning the sky in some areas orange.
“If air conditions worsen, people are advised to reduce outdoor activities and wear masks when outside,” it said. AFP