Indonesia, Sept. 10 -- Indonesian Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka issued a public apology on Thursday as toxic haze and lingering forest fires continue to blanket parts of Kalimantan.

"We apologize to the residents of Kalimantan for the current situation," Gibran said during an inspection of the Forest and Land Fire Monitoring Post in Guntung Damar, Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan.

He stated that while joint task forces conduct daily containment operations, fire hotspots continue to emerge due to severe underground peatland fires.

To combat persistent blazes in South Kalimantan, the Vice President called for specialized subterranean wetting techniques in addition to surface-level firefighting.

He also instructed local authorities t...