This is the moment an entire mountainside is set ablaze after flares used at a wedding photoshoot sparked a massive wildfire.
The terrifying inferno – on Mount Bromo, East Java, Indonesia – began when a couple used handheld flares for the wedding snaps.
But within minutes they had triggered a blaze in the conservation area that quickly engulfed nearby towns in fire and smoke.
Residents were ordered to stay indoors and wear facemasks as the blaze spread over a 50-hectare area.
Local media says the couple used five flares for their photos with one of them exploding, triggering the fire which was still burning a day later on 7th September.
Six have been arrested, the police said.
Terrifying footage of the intensity of the blaze shows it leaping from tree to tree as it spreads rapidly through the protected area of natural beauty.
Earlier, a still photograph, apparently posted to social media by photographer Kevin Pramudya Utama, shows the couple on the hillside with a flare in their hands.
Moments later, as seen in shocking video footage, the flare appears to be burning out of control in the tinder-dry scrubland.
Meanwhile the bride, groom and their camera crew seem oblivious to the eco devastation they’re causing.
The popular tourist destination has now been closed down by firefighters tackling the blaze.
The photoshoot took place before the wedding on the mountainside known locally as Bukit Teletubbies, or Teletubbies Hill.
Probolinggo Resort Police Chief Adjunct Senior Commissioner Wisnu Wardhana said six people have been arrested in connection with the blaze.
One of them has since been named as a suspect, with five others being interviewed as witnesses.
Only one has been identified by the initials AWEW, 41, and is reportedly a resident of Lumajang Regency, East Java.
Wisnu said on Thursday, 7th September: “AWEW does not have a permit to enter the conservation area.”
The suspect has reportedly been charged and faces up to five years in prison, as well as an IDR 1.5 billion (GBP 78,400) fine.
The investigation is ongoing.
