JAKARTA: An explosion at an Indonesian Navy ammunition warehouse on Wednesday killed one navy serviceman and injured more than 87 other navy personnel, the military said.

The naval warehouse was stocked with light ammunition.

Armed forces spokesman Iskandar Sitompul said the blast near the capital Jakarta was believed to have followed an electrical short-circuit in the building.

“The blast at the navy’s amphibious special forces unit north of Jakarta happened while navy personnel were trying to extinguish a fire caused by a short circuit,” said military spokesman Iskandar Sitompul.

The explosion shattered the warehouse belonging to an elite naval combat force, spraying victims with shrapnel and pieces of wood and glass.

“Most of them were injured by pieces of wood and glass that pierced them on their cheek, chest and stomach,” Sitompul said.

Most of the victims were hit by wood or tile fragments, Sitompul said. TV footage from the scene showed that the roofs and glass from at least five buildings were damaged in the blast.

Eighty-seven people were injured, with 72 of them being treated at two hospitals, Sitompul said.

A first sergeant was killed in the blast, he said.

The warehouse is is among naval facilities located on the small islet of Pondok Dayung, a short distance from Jakarta’s shoreline, beside Indonesia’s largest seaport.

A team headed by the deputy navy chief has been set up to investigate the blast, Sitompul said. He ruled out any possible sabotage.

In 1984, an arsenal belonging to Indonesia’s marines in southern Jakarta exploded, killing eight people.

Television footage showed a column of black smoke towering over the area shortly after the morning accident.