Blasts rocked a chemical plant in Indonesia on Tuesday, sparking a series of fires at the complex that killed two people and injured nearly 70 others, police and hospital officials said.  

It was not immediately clear what caused the afternoon blast at PT Petro Widada in the Indonesian town of Gresik, said local police Capt. Sudibyo, but preliminary reports indicated it was an accident, possibly caused by an electrical short circuit.

Witnesses reported hearing large explosions at the plant, police said. Private SCTV showed towering flames and plumes of dark smoke coming from the grounds at the complex in East Java.

Authorities evacuated hundreds of nearby residents from the nearby neighborhood of factories and homes. At least five homes near the complex caught fire.

Dede Mawardi, a spokesman for PT Petro Kimia company, which has a small stake in the factory, said the explosions were believed to have come from tanks containing liquid chemicals used to make plastics.

Dede, whose company runs a private hospital nearby, said two people were killed, including the plant's production director.

One of the victims died during an operation at Surabaya's state-run Dr. Sutomo Hospital, said Dr. Urip Martedjo. No police officials were available to comment on the deaths.

Police Col. Ade Rahardja, in the nearby provincial capital Surabaya, said 68 people had been injured.

PT Petro Widada is a subsidiary of PT Petro Kimia Gresik, one of the country's largest petro chemical industries. It was not immediately clear what chemicals were at the factory or what it produced.

(China Daily January 21, 2004)