Four Killed As Wildfire Traps Firefighters And Volunteers In Indonesia’s Mount Bromo National Park

A wildfire in Indonesia’s Mount Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park has killed four people and left two others with severe burns after a firefighting team became trapped by thick smoke and rapidly spreading flames.

The blaze erupted in the Mentigen and Pusung Lingker areas of the popular national park in East Java’s Probolinggo regency, according to officials.

The victims were among a 12-member firefighting team consisting of national park personnel, community fire brigade members and local volunteers attempting to contain the wildfire on Thursday.

East Java police spokesperson Jules Abraham Abast said strong winds fanned the flames and caused the fire to spread quickly through dry vegetation.

At about 1:30 p.m., firefighters operating outside the danger zone received an emergency call from colleagues who had become trapped by dense smoke and advancing flames.

Rescuers later found three people dead and three others suffering severe burns at an evacuation point. One of those suffering burns died while receiving treatment.

Two volunteers remained hospitalised with serious burn injuries after being transferred to Dr. Soetomo General Hospital in Surabaya for specialised treatment. Six others escaped unharmed.

“The incident occurred in a remote mountainous area, complicating rescue efforts,” said Probolinggo police chief Asmida Rizki Siregar, who joined emergency crews carrying victims on stretchers for about two kilometres because steep terrain prevented vehicles from reaching the site.

She said authorities completed the evacuation late Thursday and have launched an investigation into the deaths, including whether negligence or criminal wrongdoing contributed to the tragedy. Investigators were collecting evidence and interviewing survivors.

The fire follows a major blaze in August that scorched nearly nine square kilometres of grassland and vegetation, including protected edelweiss flowers, in the park.

The deaths came as Indonesia intensified efforts to combat forest and land fires that have worsened this year as El Niño intensifies a prolonged dry season.

Contributing factors also include land clearance using fire in the Indonesian part of Borneo and regions of Sumatra Island, as well as water shortages that have hampered Indonesian firefighters, who have received assistance from Japan.

Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry recorded 799 hotspots nationwide as of Thursday evening, up sharply from 372 a day earlier. More than three-quarters were concentrated in six fire-prone provinces on Sumatra and Borneo.

The ministry described the incident as a reminder that forest and land fire extinguishing is a high-risk operation.

Toxic haze and smoke have caused a health crisis in neighbouring countries as well. The smoke has drifted as far as the Philippines, more than 800 kilometres away.

The surge in fires has renewed concerns about transboundary haze across Southeast Asia. Malaysia on Friday ordered hundreds of schools closed in several states because of deteriorating air quality.