44 Dead In Indonesia Nightclub Fire

The death toll in a fire in a karaoke bar on Indonesia's Sumatra island stood at 44 on Tuesday but emergency services said it was likely to rise even further.

Syamsudin, head of the firefighting team in Palembang city, told Reuters they had not been able to search the top floor of the five-storey Heppi Karaoke bar properly following Sunday evening's blaze because it was still too hot.

"Up until this morning, we have recorded 44 dead victims. Today, we hope we can go inside that top floor and finish our job," Syamsudin said by telephone from the industrial city of two million people, some 250 miles northwest of Jakarta.

Asked if firefighters expected to find more bodies on the top floor, he replied:

"That's very likely. I can't predict how many."

Some people leapt to their deaths from the top of the five-floor bar in the provincial capital of Palembang as flames engulfed the roof, police Capt. Arum Prioyono said.

The blaze started late Sunday and is believed to have been caused by a faulty electrical installation.

The karaoke bar, located in a busy downtown shopping area, did not have proper fire exits and the only elevator was broken, Capt. Prioyono said. Several victims died after jumping from the upper floors to escape the flames, he said.

Two survivors were being treated at Palembang General Hospital, while 18 others who suffered lighter injuries have been released, officials said.

Later in the day, firefighters located three more bodies. The victims were so badly burned they could not be identified.

Firefighters extinguished the fire on Monday morning, Prioyono said.

Many buildings in Indonesia have little or no fire-safety features. Officials rarely make checks and corruption plagues much of the bureaucracy in this sprawling archipelago.

Palembang itself has a seedy reputation, with its thriving entertainment industry catering to workers from nearby oil refineries, coffee plantations and fertilizer factories. It is a sprawling city of two million split by the huge Musi river.

The Heppi Karaoke had different bars and restaurants on all five floors, many partitioned into small singing rooms.

It was located in one of Palembang's busiest shopping areas, but firefighters prevented the blaze spreading to nearby stores.