Fire destroys 127 shops

BENGKULU: Fire gutted 127 shops at the Barukoto I market here, but fortunately no loss of life has been reported.

The fire broke out at about 1:15 a.m. Saturday and quickly spread. Many shops were stocked with flammable material such as apparel and shoes.

It took about five hours to put the fire out.

Bengkulu Police chief Lt. Col. Amin Saleh said the cause of the fire had yet to be determined but an investigation was underway. Antara cited him as saying that damages were expected to run to about Rp 2 billion.

This is said to be the first fire to have occurred in the market which was inaugurated in 1984.