Following a brawl between rival gangs of youths in Indonesia’s West Papua, a karaoke bar
was set ablaze on Tuesday leading to the death of at least 19 people.
According to police in the provincial capital of Sorong, one person was fatally stabbed in the fight before the venue was set on fire with 18 people trapped inside, a police official said.
“Fights among youths in cities are normal, but that it has caused so many deaths, that is a first,” Adam Erwini, a spokesman for West Papua police, told Metro TV.
Adam said the deadly incident at the entertainment venue in Sorong was still under investigation, and it was unclear if the death toll would rise.
Separately, Dedi Prasetyo, a spokesman for Indonesia’s national police said the brawl was between two rival gangs from the neighboring island of Maluku.
The identity of the victims has not been released.
This is developing news, more details later.