Indonesia cleans up after massive blaze at ammunition depot
BOGOR, INDONESIA—A massive fire at an ammunition depot near Indonesia’s capital was extinguished early on Sunday and the military was sweeping nearby residential areas to collect debris that could have been blown away from the facility during explosions, a military official said.
The fire broke out on Saturday at a military depot in Bogor, on the outskirts of Jakarta, at around 6.30 p.m., causing a series of loud explosions and sending flames and smoke into the night sky. The military said the incident did not result in casualties.
The blaze was extinguished at around 3.45 a.m. on Sunday, said Mohammad Hasan, the military commander for Jakarta.
“We are investigating the area around the location and we’re going to comb and clean materials that were thrown out of the depot,” Hasan told reporters near the site.
The military did not describe the objects but warned residents not to touch them as they could be dangerous.
Firefighters used robotic cars to help put out the flames. The military said it suspected that the blaze was triggered by unstable chemicals at a part of the facility where aging ammunition was stored.
Hasan said old ammunition was being kept at the depot because the military was in the process of disposing them. —REUTERS
