4 dead, 2 burned as Indonesia battles worst wildfires in 11 years

Four people, including firefighters and civil servants, were killed and two others suffered burns while battling what has become Indonesia's worst wildfire season in 11 years.

Indonesia's Ministry of Forestry said Friday that four firefighters and civil servants died while fighting a blaze at Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in the Probolinggo area of East Java province on Thursday (local time).

Three of the victims were found dead at the scene, while a fourth died after three hours of treatment at a hospital.

The ministry added that two volunteers sustained severe burns and were transported to a hospital for treatment, according to AFP and other news agencies.

The group became trapped or injured when a sudden gust of wind caused the flames to spread rapidly during firefighting operations. The remote location complicated rescue efforts, and rescuers had to carry the casualties on stretchers for 2 kilometers.

According to the ministry's wildfire monitoring system, 799 hot spots were detected nationwide as of Thursday — a sharp increase from 372 the day before.

More than 70 percent of those hot spots were detected in six fire-prone areas on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Hot spots are points identified by satellites where rising surface temperatures indicate a potential fire.

Dry conditions driven by this year's El Niño weather pattern have fueled a series of wildfires, particularly on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, making this the worst fire season since 2015.

In 2015, wildfires burned a total of 2.6 million hectares across Indonesia, and nearly 1 million hectares were scorched in 2019. This year's damage is expected to surpass the 2019 toll.

Smoke from the Indonesian wildfires has also degraded air quality in neighboring countries, including Malaysia, Singapore and Timor-Leste.