Fire razes major fuel depot in Indonesian capital

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Police investigated Monday the cause of a massive fire that destroyed a fuel depot on the outskirts of the Indonesian capital, hurling up towering flames overnight and sending panicked residents out of nearby homes with their valuables.

The blaze at the Pertamina national oil company fuel depot broke out Sunday and fightfighters extinguished it by Monday morning, after it had burned for more than eight hours, and no injuries were reported.

Police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira said a team of forensic expects was inspecting the site, but "so far there is no indication of sabotage."

Several "explosions were heard from the tank," said Afendi, a worker at Pertamina who goes by a single name as is common among Indonesians.

Pertamina spokesman Anang Rizkami told local El Shinta radio the tank holds about 1.3 million gallons (5,000 kilo-liters) of regular gasoline.

Scores of fire trucks, hundreds of firefighters and uniformed soldiers were called to the scene. At one point, flames reaching more than 300 feet (100 meters) into the air were seen from several miles (kilometers) away.

Residents were temporarily cleared from the area around the Plumpang depot, which distributes about 100,000 barrels of fuel to the city every day. Many people living in the crowded shanty town surrounding the depot removed their belongings, fearing the fire could spread to other tanks and cause more explosions at the site.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.