Fire guts Purwakarta market

Fire guts Purwakarta market

PURWAKARTA, West Java: Hundreds of kiosks at the Simpang
market here went up in flames yesterday morning.

"There are more than 500 kiosks and only 10 are left
standing," said a local official assessing the damage.

The fire spread quickly leaving little time for firefighters
to save the clustered kiosks, Antara reported. Efforts turned
toward containing the fire so it would not spread to nearby
residential areas.

Simpang market was opened in 1992 as a place for street
vendors to sell their wares without obstructing traffic.

The cause of the fire is still unknown. (mds)