Indonesia arrests 185 as it struggles to bring huge underground fires under control

Vast blazes are ripping across the archipelago’s rainforests and smouldering deep beneath the surface in once-swampy areas known as peatlands

Authorities say they have arrested some 185 people suspected of being involved in activities that led to the out-of-control fires sweeping the country

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A firefighter works to put out a blaze in Kampar on Monday. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:38pm, 16 Sep 2019Updated: 6:10pm, 16 Sep 2019

Thousands of Indonesian firefighters are locked in a round-the-clock game of whack-a-mole as they battle to extinguish an invisible enemy – underground fires that have sent air quality levels plummeting and sparked flight cancellations.

Vast blazes are ripping across the archipelago’s rainforests, unleashing a toxic haze over Southeast Asia that has triggered health fears and sent diplomatic tensions with Indonesia’s neighbours soaring.

Jakarta deployed more than 9,000 personnel to battle fires turning land into charred landscapes and consuming forests in hard-hit Sumatra and Borneo islands.

But many of the blazes smoulder deep underground in once-swampy areas known as peatlands, where they can last for months and release eye-watering amounts of thick, acrid smoke.

Firefighters spray water to help extinguish a fire in Kampar. Photo: AFP

On Monday, authorities said they had arrested some 185 people suspected of being involved in activities that led to out-of-control fires sweeping the country.

“Indonesian Police will enforce the law against anyone who is proven to have carried out forest and land burning, whether it was done intentionally or through negligence,” National Police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told reporters in Jakarta.

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