Sharjah 24 – AFP: At least 16 people were killed and dozens injured in Indonesia's capital Friday, after a massive blaze broke out at a state-run fuel storage depot before firefighters brought it under control, officials said.
The raging inferno caused people to flee in panic and the evacuation of residential areas nearby the depot run by state energy firm Pertamina in north Jakarta.
The North Jakarta fire department said 16 people including two children were killed in the fire, which injured at least 50 more.
Many of those killed and injured suffered severe burns after the fire broke out, department chief Satriadi Gunawan told AFP.
The cause of the fire, which started after 8 pm local time (1300 GMT), was not clear.
The blaze was put out several hours after it started, army chief of staff Dudung Abdurachman told reporters.
"The fire is already extinguished," he said.
The military chief and Pertamina said they were investigating the cause.
"Pertamina is focused on handling the fire and evacuating workers and residents nearby to a safer location," the company said in a statement.
The oil and gas firm's chief executive Nicke Widyawati said it would "conduct a full internal evaluation... to prevent the reoccurrence of a similar event."
She said the country's fuel supply had not been disrupted, remaining secure through backup supplies from the nearest available terminals.
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