Fire breaks out at Indonesian army ammunition depot brought under control, probe on to determine cause
Firefighters fought for hours to bring the fire that broke out at an army ammunition depot near the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday evening under control, officials said on Sunday.
No casualty was reported in the incident.
Jakarta Military Commander Major General Mohamad Hasan told Antara news agency, "We have checked all locations within our one-kilometer perimeter and residential areas. We found no casualties."
Although some explosions from the depot reportedly occurred in large magnitude, he assured the depot security system is adequate to prevent fires from spreading outward.
"We can assure that our storage system, our depots, are very safe because the locations are in bunkers, with embankments that help dampen explosions," he said.
"We have prepared this procedure and system in such a way to ensure the situation remains safe in case of an explosion," he told the news agency.
Where did the blast occur?
According to reports, the blast occurred at the warehouse owned by the Jayakarta Regional Military Command in Ciangsana Village, Bogor regency, West Java province, approximately 7 km away from Jakarta's eastern border.
According to reports, the explosion was audible within a 7 km radius.
An investigation to ascertain the cause of the fire is currently underway.