At least 11 people, including six children, have died after a fire swept through a market and surrounding buildings in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region.

The deadly blaze broke out shortly after midnight on Monday in Paniai, Central Papua province, and quickly spread to several tightly packed shophouses and structures in the area.

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According to local police spokesman Henry J. Manurung, firefighters battled the inferno for more than three hours before eventually bringing it under control.

“During the inspection, officers found 11 victims who had died with burn injuries,” Manurung said in a statement.

He said five of the victims were adults, while the other six were children aged between two and nine years.

The fire destroyed at least 40 kiosks and houses despite the deployment of fire trucks and water cannons by emergency responders.

Manurung said the tightly packed arrangement of the houses and market stalls contributed to the rapid spread of the flames and made firefighting operations more difficult.

Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the deadly fire.

The incident adds to a series of deadly fires recorded in Indonesia in recent years.

In December, 22 people were killed when fire swept through a seven-storey office building in Central Jakarta. Police said an exploding drone battery on the ground floor was the likely cause.

In 2023, an explosion at a nickel-processing plant in eastern Indonesia also claimed at least 12 lives.

The latest tragedy has left the Paniai community mourning as authorities continue efforts to establish what triggered the devastating blaze.

A military aircraft has crashed during an airshow at a base outside Athens, Greece, killing the two pilots onboard.

The incident occurred on Saturday during the annual “Athens Flying Week” airshow, according to the Greek news agency ANA.

The aircraft, identified as an F-4 Phantom, had reportedly just taken off when it suddenly lost altitude and crashed.

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The crash happened in front of thousands of visitors attending the airshow and was followed by an explosion.

The two pilots aboard the aircraft died in the crash, while the circumstances that led to the aircraft losing altitude remained unclear.

A fire service helicopter was dispatched to the scene to extinguish the blaze caused by the crash, according to Greece’s public broadcaster, ERT.

Following the incident, Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias cancelled a planned trip to Thessaloniki’s International Fair and travelled to the crash site.

Authorities are expected to investigate the crash to determine what caused the military aircraft to lose altitude shortly after take-off.

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More than 3,000 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) following the country’s deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak, according to the latest official figures released on Wednesday.

The Congolese National Institute of Public Health said the outbreak has so far killed 3,007 people and infected 6,186 others, representing a fatality rate of 48.6 per cent.

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The health agency also reported that 1,409 people have recovered from the disease.
The outbreak, which was declared in mid-May, originated in the remote northeastern province of Ituri and has spread to six provinces, including areas severely affected by insecurity and the activities of armed groups.

Ebola is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and can cause severe haemorrhagic fever. The virus has killed more than 15,000 people across Africa over the past five decades.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment.

Health authorities are facing significant challenges in containing the virus, with the response reportedly hampered by inadequate resources, insecurity and mistrust among some communities.

Several vaccines and treatments are being tested against the Bundibugyo strain. Existing approved Ebola vaccines are effective against the Zaire strain, which was responsible for the largest known Ebola outbreak.

The World Health Organisation has recommended a Phase Three clinical trial of Ervebo, a vaccine used against the Zaire strain, to determine whether it can also protect against Bundibugyo.

WHO experts remain uncertain about Ervebo’s effectiveness against the strain, although preliminary data indicate that it could provide some level of protection.

Meanwhile, a batch of 16,250 vaccine doses arrived in DR Congo at the end of August for frontline health workers, with vaccination beginning shortly afterwards in Kisangani, the capital of Tshopo Province.

The latest outbreak has already surpassed the country’s previous worst Ebola epidemic, which occurred between 2018 and 2020 and killed nearly 2,300 people from about 3,500 reported cases.

Authorities and international health partners are continuing efforts to contain the outbreak as infections and fatalities rise.