Jakarta, Oct 15 : A fire engulfed dozens of houses in West Jakarta early Tuesday, killing members of two families, an official said.

The incident, which claimed five lives, including three children, occurred at around 1:20 a.m. local time in the densely populated residential area of Tambora sub-district.

The city's fire department head, Satriadi Gunawan, revealed that initial findings indicated a gas leak in one of the affected houses was most likely the cause of the spark that ignited the fire. According to him, the victims were trapped while trying to escape, Xinhua news agency reported.

As many as 22 fire engines and 110 fire department personnel were deployed to combat the blaze that destroyed 30 houses. At around 7 a.m. the fire was extinguished.

The incident reportedly caused an estimated 10 billion Indonesian rupiahs (approximately $640,000) in financial losses.

/IANS