The deaths come as Jakarta says it will accept foreign help to tackle its worst wildfires in more than a decade. Posted on October 16, 2026 October 16, 2026 Four people fighting a forest fire in a national park on the Indonesian island of Java have died, the Forestry Ministry said, as the country battles its worst forest fires in more than a decade. The victims were trapped in the flames on Thursday in the Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park in East Java. the ministry said on Friday. Recommended stories list of 2 itemsend of list Two others suffered serious burns and are receiving medical treatment. Forest fires have spread beyond Indonesia’s borders, shrouding neighboring countries in haze, Reuters reported. The ministry did not identify the victims. In a statement, he expressed “his deepest condolences” and paid tribute to the “courage and dedication” of the officers, volunteers and residents working on the frontlines. The deaths, he said, were “a reminder that fighting forest and land fires is a high-risk operation,” adding that safety “must be the primary concern,” including monitoring how the fire spreads and the direction of the wind, keeping evacuation routes ready and assessing conditions before and during operations. The islands of Sumatra and Borneo, near Singapore and Malaysia are the most affected. Hotspots rise The ministry said satellite monitoring detected 799 high-confidence hotspots across the country as of Thursday night, 427 more than the previous day. The ministry warned that critical points are not the same as fires, since one fire can be registered as several. Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has approved accepting aid from neighboring countries, Foreign Minister Arrmanatha Nasir said, according to Reuters. [AFP]Malaysia offered to send three helicopters, one plane and 52 troops last month, but there has been no follow-up, Reuters reported. Singapore has also said it is willing to help. Indonesia has faced heavy criticism over the fires, which have caused respiratory problems for hundreds of thousands of people and forced the closure of schools in Malaysia and East Timor, according to Reuters.
