By Yuddy Cahya Budiman
Jakarta - At least 16 people were killed when a fire broke out on Friday at a fuel storage station operated by Indonesia's state energy company Pertamina PERTM.UL in the capital Jakarta, an official at the city's main firefighting unit said.
The fire, which started after 8 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), burned some houses and sent nearby residents in the densely populated areas into a panic, some of whom fled with their belongings, footage from broadcasters showed.
Two of the 16 fatalities were children, while 50 people were injured including one child, according to Rahmat Kristanto, an official at the firefighting unit.
Explosions could be heard in footage shared on social media, although Reuters was not immediately able to authenticate the clips.
Near the storage station, residents crowded the area while firefighters carried orange body bags from the fire. Jakarta's disaster-mitigation agency said residents had been evacuated into nearby mosques.
The call centre of Jakarta's main fire station said it had dispatched 51 units to the Plumpang area in North Jakarta, adding that the fire was huge.
A spokesperson for a local hospital near the station told Kompas TV that 10 people had been brought in, without giving details on their condition.
Pertamina said in a statement that the cause of the incident was still being investigated and that evacuation efforts were ongoing.
The company said that the fuel supply for the Jakarta area remained secure as it planned to divert supply from other terminals.
The fuel station has a capacity of over 300 000 kilo-litres, according to the country's energy ministry.
Reuters