Sixteen people died when a fire broke out at a Manado retirement home on Sunday, December 28, 2025. Three others were burned.
The facility, Werdha Damai, sits in North Sulawesi. On the timeline, the blaze was reported at 8:31pm. Jimmu Rotinsulu, head of the city’s fire and rescue agency, told AFP, “There were 16 deaths,” and said three people had burn injuries. Many of the dead were found in their rooms; the elderly residents were likely resting when the fire broke out.
Authorities evacuated 12 people, all unhurt, to a local hospital. Three fire trucks were dispatched and the flames were under control by 9:30pm.
The identification work is still going. Police said 15 of the 16 could no longer be recognised, and that DNA samples would be sent to Jakarta because the local force lacks a laboratory. The 16 killed were taken to Bhayangkara Hospital, and the injured to Manado City and Permata Bunda hospitals.
The fire is the latest in a run of deadly blazes across Indonesia. Earlier this month, a fire in a seven-storey office building in Jakarta killed at least 22 people.
Sources
- Fire at Indonesia retirement home kills 16 people | News | Al Jazeera
- Manado retirement home fire kills 16, victims' identification ongoing – ANTARA News
