Khaberni - Indonesian police announced the death of at least 20 people, following a fire that broke out in an administrative building in the capital, Jakarta, according to "Reuters".
The fire engulfed the seven-story building, causing thick black smoke to rise into the sky and causing panic among residents and workers near the site located in one of central Jakarta's districts.
Susatio Bournomo Kondro, the chief of central Jakarta police, told reporters that the fire has been extinguished, and efforts are ongoing to search for more potential victims inside the building.
Kondro explained that the fire started on the first floor around noon and then spread to the upper floors.
He added that some employees were having lunch in the building at the time of the incident, while others had left the office.
He noted that the death toll had reached 20 people by noon on Tuesday.
Kondro said, "Now, we are still focusing on evacuating the victims and cooling down the fire."
According to "Reuters", this building is the office of Terra Drone Indonesia, which provides drones for aerial survey activities with clients in the mining and agriculture sectors.
The company is the Indonesian unit of the Japanese drone company Terra Drone, according to the company's website. Footage broadcast by the "Kompas" TV channel showed dozens of firefighters trying to evacuate people from inside the building, some of them carrying body bags out of the building. Some workers were also seen escaping from the upper floors of the building using portable ladders.
