A fire at a west Denpasar boardinghouse claimed the lives of a married couple on Tuesday morning.
Both husband and wife were reportedly disabled and unable to escape the flames from their boardinghouse on Jl. Tunjung Sari.
“The incident began at 10:45 am in a boardinghouse in a semi-permanent structure with 12 rooms. Two victims died,” head of Emergencies and Logistics for BPBD (regional disaster management agency) Bali, Ardy Ganggas told AFP.
“The fire started in one of the rooms,” spreading to the whole building, Ganggas explained.
The couple that died in the fire, Mar, 50, and Sahwati, 40, were physically unable to escape, with Mar being blind and Sahwati being paralyzed. The couple had earned money begging, according to Ganggas.
The fire was reportedly put out around 1 pm. A photo of the fire being extinguished was posted to citizen journalist site Info Denpasar earlier this afternoon:
“The cause is being investigated by Denpasar Police,” Ganggas concluded.
