Fire razes 100 homes in Palembang

PALEMBANG, South Sumatra: Some 100 homes in the town of Palembang were razed on Saturday night by a fire that tore through the Lorong Tangga Raja area of the Seberang Ulu I district. The fire began at around 9:05 p.m. while most residents were watching the news, Antara reported.

No casualties were reported from the fire which damaged a predominantly Arab-Indonesian residential area. The fire was put out at 1:30 a.m. by firefighters from the local administration, state-owned fertilizer company PT Pusri and state-owned oil an gas company Pertamina.

Neighbors helped tear down a few homes in a bid to prevent the fire from spreading. Victims of the fire took refuge in relatives' homes.