Maritime Museum tower catches fire

JAKARTA: The tower of the Maritime Museum in North Jakarta, caught fire at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

However, the fire did not destroy the building, which was built in 1652, as firefighters extinguished it within an hour.

"We are yet to investigate the cause of the fire," a North Jakarta firefighter said.

Earlier in the day, a fire swept through at least 27 semi- permanent houses in the dense Tanjung Duren Selatan subdistrict of West Jakarta.

No fatalities were reported in the incident, which started at about 12:30 p.m.

Firefighters suspect a short circuit caused the fire. -- JP