At least 16 elderly people killed in fire at Indonesian retirement home

Initial police report blames electrical fault for fire but officials say cause still under investigation

Body bags containing victims of a fire at a retirement home in Manado, North Sulawesi province, Indonesia (North Sulawesi Regional Police via AP)

At least 16 people were killed after a fire tore through a retirement home on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island on Sunday evening.

The fire in the single-story house in the city of Manado started while the residents were asleep, police said on Monday.

“The team on the ground has confirmed that the death toll currently is 16," North Sulawesi police spokesperson Alamsyah Hasibuan said.

“Fifteen of them were burned to death while one victim’s body remains intact.”

Footage aired by local news channels showed the fire blazing through the home, turning the night sky orange, with residents appearing to help one elderly person escape from the burning building.

At least 15 survivors were treated at two hospitals in Manado, Mr Hasibuan said.

The bodies of the victims were taken to a hospital for identification with the assistance of families, officials said.

Police were trying to identify the dead, many of them in an "unrecognisable" condition, local officials said.

Firefighters, who arrived with six trucks, needed more than two hours to extinguish the blaze after people living nearby reported the fire to emergency services, officials said.

A fire official said the flames spread rapidly, which prompted the crew to focus on containing the fire in the densely populated neighbourhood.

Olva Sumual, the home's caretaker, said its residents were the elderly, and about 30 people were in the complex at the time of the fire.

Neighbour Steven Mokodompit told Detikcom that the fire was already burning in the nursing home's kitchen when he arrived to help at around 8pm local time. He said he and other neighbours who jumped into the rescue heard an explosion and screams for help. "In just five minutes, the fire had engulfed the building," he said.

An initial police report said an electrical fault caused the fire but officials later said the cause was still under investigation.

Earlier this month, a fire in a seven-storey building in the capital Jakarta killed 22 people.