A fire broke out shortly after midnight on September 7, 2026, at a market in the town of Paniai, Central Papua province, Indonesia [1, 2]. The blaze rapidly spread from the market to nearby shophouses, destroying around 40 kiosks and homes in total [1, 3, 2].
Local police spokesman Henry J. Manurung said, “During the inspection, officers found 11 victims who had died with burn injuries. Of the 11 victims, five of them were adults, while the other six were children” aged between two and nine years old [1]. The intensity of the fire and the densely packed nature of the houses and stalls hindered firefighting efforts, which lasted more than three hours, Manurung added [1, 2]. “The intensity of the blaze and the fact that the houses and stalls were all packed tightly together made the firefighting process take quite a long time,” he said [2].
Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the fire [1, 2]. Indonesia has faced deadly fires before, including a December 2025 blaze in Central Jakarta that killed 22 people and a nickel plant explosion in 2023 that claimed at least 12 lives [1, 2].
The Paniai fire is one of the deadliest in recent years in the region. Efforts continue to assess damage and provide aid to those affected by the loss of homes and livelihoods.
