Each person had to be lowered one by one, struggling to breathe.
In the midday hours of a Tuesday in Central Jakarta, a battery's silent failure became a catastrophe that claimed twenty-two lives inside a seven-story office building. The fire that consumed PT Terra Drone Indonesia's headquarters in Kemayoran speaks to the invisible risks embedded in modern industry — the energy stored in the technologies we build, and the human cost when containment fails. As investigators turn their attention to storage practices and safety protocols, the event joins a long record of moments when the ordinary suddenly becomes irreversible.
- A drone battery short-circuited in a storage room around midday, igniting an explosion that sent thick black smoke billowing above Central Jakarta's Kemayoran neighbourhood within minutes.
- Dozens of workers trapped on upper floors faced an agonizing choice between smoke-filled stairwells and the roof, as the fire climbed rapidly through the building's interior.
- Television cameras captured the desperate scene: workers — many of them women — being lowered one by one from the sixth floor on emergency ladders while smoke swirled around those still waiting their turn.
- Twenty-nine fire trucks and hundreds of personnel battled the blaze for three hours before extinguishing it, only to begin the grim recovery of twenty-two bodies, including fifteen women and one who was pregnant.
- Families now wait at hospitals for identification of victims while authorities investigate battery storage practices and whether the building's safety protocols were adequate.
On a Tuesday around midday, a battery in a storage room at PT Terra Drone Indonesia's seven-story Jakarta office began to spark. Within minutes, the building in the Kemayoran neighbourhood was engulfed in flames, thick black smoke rising high enough to be seen for blocks. Many workers had stepped out for lunch — a small mercy — but dozens remained inside, trapped as the fire climbed through the building's interior.
Those on the upper floors faced an immediate choice: risk the smoke-filled stairwells or seek refuge on the roof. Many chose the roof. What followed was broadcast on local television — workers, many of them women, being lowered one by one from the sixth floor on emergency ladders while others waited, struggling to breathe as smoke thickened around them. A survivor named Dimitri later described the likely trigger: a short circuit or thermal failure in a drone battery stored in the testing area, which ignited and spread rapidly.
Twenty-nine fire trucks and hundreds of firefighters worked for three hours to extinguish the blaze. When it was over, twenty-two bodies were recovered — seven men and fifteen women, one of whom was pregnant. Families gathered at hospitals and outside the building, waiting for identification and for answers that would take time to arrive.
Authorities launched an investigation into the exact cause, with early evidence pointing to the battery. The incident raised urgent questions about lithium battery storage practices, building safety protocols, and the adequacy of evacuation procedures. For the families of the twenty-two who did not walk out of that building, the questions mattered far less than the absence left behind.
On a Tuesday around midday in Central Jakarta, a battery in a storage room began to spark. Within minutes, the seven-story office building housing PT Terra Drone Indonesia—a company that manufactures unmanned aerial vehicles for construction, mining, and energy sectors—was engulfed in flames. Thick black smoke rose into the sky above the Kemayoran neighbourhood, visible for blocks. By the time firefighters arrived, the fire had already begun its climb through the building's interior, trapping workers on upper floors.
Many of the building's occupants had stepped out for lunch when the fire started, a small mercy that likely saved lives. But dozens remained inside. Those on the upper floors faced an immediate choice: descend through smoke-filled stairwells or seek refuge on the roof. Some chose the roof, calling for help as the smoke thickened around them. The scene that followed played out on local television—more than a dozen workers, many of them women, being lowered one by one from the sixth floor on emergency ladders extended by firefighters. Each descent took time. Several people struggled to breathe while waiting their turn, gripping the ladder as smoke swirled around them.
Firefighters deployed 29 trucks and hundreds of personnel to the scene. The effort to contain and extinguish the blaze consumed three hours of intense work. A survivor named Dimitri, speaking to local media, described what he believed had triggered the catastrophe: a short circuit or thermal failure in one of the drone batteries stored in the testing area. The battery had ignited, sparking an explosion that spread rapidly through the storage space and beyond.
When the flames were finally extinguished, rescue workers began the grim work of recovery. Twenty-two bodies were found inside the building and transported to the police hospital in East Jakarta. Seven were men. Fifteen were women. One of the women was pregnant. Families gathered at hospitals and outside the building, waiting for news, waiting for identification, waiting for answers that would take time to come.
The building itself—a rental space used as a sales and storage office for the drone company—had become a tomb. Authorities launched an investigation into the exact cause, though the initial evidence pointed toward the battery. The incident raised immediate questions about safety protocols in the building, about storage practices for lithium batteries, about whether the evacuation procedures had been adequate. For the families of the twenty-two people who did not leave that building alive, those questions would matter little. What mattered was the absence.
Notable Quotes
It is suspected that a short circuit or thermal failure in the drone battery triggered an explosion and fire. Some colleagues on the upper floors tried to escape by moving to the rooftop while calling for help.— Dimitri, a survivor
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why was a battery in a storage area so dangerous? Couldn't they have contained it?
Lithium batteries, especially in testing and storage, can fail catastrophically. A short circuit or thermal runaway doesn't just produce a small spark—it can trigger an explosion. In a confined space with other materials, it spreads fast. The question isn't really whether they could have contained it. It's whether they should have been storing them that way at all.
The fact that many workers were out for lunch—was that luck, or something else?
Pure luck. If it had happened at 9 a.m., the building would have been full. The timing saved lives, but it also means we don't know how many more could have died. That's the kind of thing that haunts an investigation.
What struck you most about the evacuation footage?
The slowness of it. One person at a time, lowered on a ladder, gasping for air. You see the firefighters working methodically, but you also see the desperation—people who made it to the roof, who got out, but only because they happened to be on a floor where rescue was possible. The people on lower floors didn't have that option.
What happens now to PT Terra Drone Indonesia?
That depends on what the investigation finds. If it was negligence—improper storage, ignored warnings, lack of safety measures—there will be liability, possibly criminal charges. If it was a freak failure, the company might survive with new protocols. Either way, they're the company where twenty-two people died. That's not something you move past.