3 killed after jumping from burning factory in Indonesia

Three construction workers were killed after jumping from the sixth floor of a factory engulfed in flames in Indonesia's North Sumatra province on Thursday, local police said, reported Xinhua.

The fire broke out at around 10 a.m. local time at a soap factory operated by Evyap Sabun Indonesia in the Sei Mangkei Special Economic Zone in Simalungun regency, local police spokesperson Verry Purba said.

The victims, aged between 26 and 43, were welding assistants working for a construction contractor. They jumped from the sixth floor after flames and smoke reached their work area and an explosion-like sound was heard, Purba said.

All three died from injuries sustained in the fall after being taken to a hospital.

Preliminary information indicated that the fire started on the third or fourth floor. Firefighters were still battling the blaze more than three hours after it broke out, while the cause of the fire remained under investigation.