Dozens of kiosks gutted by fire

JAKARTA (JP): Some 50 cigarette kiosks at Sumber Artha market in Bekasi were gutted by a fire on Thursday morning. No fatalities were reported.

The head of the Bekasi fire department, Yusuf, said the 50 destroyed kiosks were part of 130 kiosks at the market.

The cause of the fire is still unclear, but two of the market's security officers were questioned by police, Yusuf said, adding that losses from the fire were estimated at about Rp 2 billion.

"The goods destroyed in the fire consisted mostly of cigarettes, of which there was at least 70 brand names," he said.

Six fire engines were deployed to the scene, three from the Bekasi mayoralty, one from Bekasi regency and two from East Jakarta, Yusuf was quoted by Antara as saying. It took firefighters more than five hours to put out the fire.

Thursday's incident was not the first time the market was hit by a fire. During last year's May riots, the market was damaged by a fire. (hhr)