Explosion at fuel depot in Jakarta

Firefighters were battling a blaze at a major fuel storage depot in northern Jakarta today, officials said. No one is believed to have been hurt.

Firefighters were battling a blaze at a major fuel storage depot in northern Jakarta today, officials said. No one is believed to have been hurt.

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It was unclear what started the fire, but "explosions were heard from the tank," said Afendi, a worker at the Pertamina national oil company fuel depot. Indonesians often have a single name.

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

Several fire trucks were called to the scene and flames could be seen from several miles (kilometers) away.

Residents were cleared from the area around the Plumpang depot, which distributes about 100,000 barrels of fuel to the city every day.