Jakarta. At least 50 firetrucks have been deployed to extinguish a fire that broke out at Pasar Senen, one of Central Jakarta's oldest markets, on Thursday morning (19/01).

The fire started at around 4.30 a.m. in the old Block II of the market, located on Jalan Gunung Sahari. It razed dozens of stalls and spread quickly to Block I.

As of 10.30 a.m., firefighters were still working to get the fire under control.

"Fires are still detected in Block I and Block II in Pasar Senen. The fires are still big and have not yet been extinguished since the firefighters also ran out of water," Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Dwiyono said at the scene.

"The cause of the fire is not yet known. After the fire is extinguished, we will conduct a crime scene investigation involving the National Police's forensic division," he added.

Police have deployed more than 500 officers to help with evacuation efforts as many kiosk owners insisted on saving their wares by themselves.

Approximately 1,100 kiosks have been affected.

Central Jakarta Mayor Mangara Pardede said the firefighters have started to use foam to prevent the blaze from spreading or flaring up again.

The firefighters also resorted to pumping water from a nearby swimming pool after they ran out of water, Mangara said.

"Our focus now is to extinguish the fire. Talks on relocation of the kiosks will be discussed with related institutions later," he said.