'Oxygen Buses' Launched in Indonesia's Palangka Raya as Wildfire Smoke Causes Breathing Problems

Residents of Palangka Raya, a city on Indonesia's Borneo island, are suffering breathing problems because of wildfire smoke. Special buses have been launched there, carrying oxygen and medical staff to give people relief from the smoke.

Palangka Raya lies in Central Kalimantan province. Alongside oxygen cylinders, medical staff are on board the buses, and city residents can board and take oxygen through a tube for 5 to 10 minutes.

The buses are painted in a mix of blue and white. A medical worker on one bus said most people coming there were coughing or having trouble breathing.

Oktavina, 44, who took oxygen on a bus, said it is a disaster caused by nature and there is not much they can do.

Wildfires occur regularly in Indonesia, mainly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. This year's fires are being described as the worst in more than a decade.

Because of the fires, the skies over neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore, as well as Indonesia, have turned orange with smoke, and there is no sign the fires will be extinguished soon.

Indonesia's health ministry said the number of respiratory patients in the country is rising because of the wildfires; from August to 25 October, about 350,000 people were affected by such illnesses, including about 31,000 in Central Kalimantan province alone.