Indonesia’s disaster management agency, in a statement on Saturday, confirmed the deaths following the Friday evening fire in Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province, some 1,600km (994 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta.
In a deadly incident that occurred last night, three people have died from a fire, according to Rahmat Mappatoba, the secretary of the Makassar city council. “Two died at the scene, and one died at the hospital,” he told the AFP news agency on Saturday, noting that the victims were trapped in the burning building.
Mappatoba accused protesters of having stormed the office to set the fire.
Indonesia’s official Antara news agency and the local disaster agency confirmed that the victims were trapped inside. Additionally, the disaster agency reported that two of the injured were hurt while jumping from the building to escape the flames. Several other people injured in the fire are currently being treated in the hospital.
In response, President Prabowo Subianto expressed his condolences to Kurniawan’s family and ordered a “thorough and transparent” investigation into the incident, calling the officers’ actions “excessive.” Seven police officers have been detained for questioning in connection with the death.
In Jakarta, hundreds of demonstrators massed outside the headquarters of the elite Mobile Brigade Corp (Brimob) paramilitary police unit that was blamed for running over motorcycle delivery driver Affan Kuniawan.
Protesters threw stones and firecrackers, and police responded with tear gas as a group tried to tear down the gates of the unit, which is notorious for its heavy-handed tactics.
The number of protesters injured in the violence is reported to be more than 200, according to the Tempo news site.
The protests are the biggest and most violent of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s tenure, and are a key test less than a year into his presidency.
