A fire that swept through a market in Indonesia’s easternmost Papua region killed 11 people, including six children, police said Monday.

The blaze broke out shortly after midnight in Paniai, Central Papua province, and quickly spread through nearby shops and homes, according to local police spokesman Henry Manurung.

“During the inspection, officers found 11 victims who had died with burn injuries,” Henry said in a statement. Five of the victims were adults and six were children aged between two and nine.

The fire burned for more than three hours and destroyed at least 40 kiosks and houses. Firefighters used trucks and water cannons to battle the flames.

Henry said the tightly packed arrangement of the buildings contributed to the difficulty of containing the blaze.

“The intensity of the blaze and the fact that the houses and stalls were all packed tightly together made the firefighting process take quite a long time,” he said.

Authorities were investigating the cause of the fire.

Deadly fires are relatively common in Indonesia. In December, a fire at a seven-storey office building in Central Jakarta killed 22 people. Police said an exploding drone battery on the ground floor was likely responsible.

In 2023, an explosion at a nickel-processing plant in eastern Indonesia killed at least 12 people.