JAKARTA — Sixteen people were killed and three others injured in a fire at a nursing home for the elderly on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, according to local authorities.

The fire department was alerted to a fire at Damai retirement home in the city of Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, on Sunday night at around 20:30 local time (12:30 GMT).

Many victims were found inside their rooms, the city's fire and rescue agency chief Jimmy Rotinsulu told news agency AFP, adding that they were likely elderly residents who were resting for the evening when the fire broke out.

Police are still investigating the cause of the blaze, which was put out at around 21:30 (13:30) on Sunday.

Authorities say police are trying to identify the deceased, urging family members of the victims to contact the hospital where the bodies have been taken to.

Many of them were in an "unrecognisable" condition, a local official told online news outlet Detikcom.

Steven Mokodompit, who lives near the nursing home, was among those who helped the home's residents evacuate.

Mokodompit told Detikcom that the fire was already burning in the nursing home's kitchen when he arrived there at around 20:00 (12:00 GMT). During the process, they heard an explosion and screams for help.

"In just five minutes, the fire had engulfed the building," he said.

He and several others then stacked tables and ladders to evacuate people from the back of the nursing home.

Footage aired by local broadcaster Metro TV showed the fire engulfing the nursing home, while locals helped to evacuate an elderly person.

The blaze was the latest report of a deadly fire in Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands.

Earlier this month, a fire tore through a seven-storey office building in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, killing at least 22 people.

In 2023, at least 12 people were killed in the country’s east after an explosion at a nickel-processing plant. — Agencies