Indonesia official: no fatalities in massive fire at military ammunition facility

There were no fatalities in a massive fire that broke out at an Indonesian military ammunition storage facility on Saturday, an official told reporters.

Military official Mohammad Hasan said the fire had started at a storage room containing expired ammunition.

Indonesian firefighters were struggling to extinguish a massive fire that broke out at a military ammunition facility just outside the capital city, media reported.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the incident in Bekasi, on the outskirts of Jakarta.

Amateur footage broadcast by local network KompasTV showed bright orange flames lighting up billowing clouds of smoke against the night sky, while loud explosions and screams could be heard from several kilometers (miles) away.

Loud explosions heard from a distance

Reuters could not immediately verify the footage.

KompasTV reported that the fire broke out at about 1830 local time (1130 GMT) and was not yet under control.

An army official, Kristomei Sianturi, told KompasTV that authorities were evacuating people from nearby neighborhoods. Firefighters could not yet extinguish the fire, he said.