Blast at Indonesian police warehouse holding World War Two munitions

An explosion went off on Saturday in an Indonesian police evidence warehouse containing munitions dating from World War Two, injuring one officer and prompting the evacuation of nearby residents, police said.

The warehouse is in the Mobile Police Brigade headquarters in Srondol, close to the city of Semarang in Central Java province.

The explosion happened at 7 a.m. (0000 GMT), provincial police chief A. Dahniel told Kompas TV, adding that the explosives stored in the warehouse had been found by residents.

The cause of the blast was being investigated and firefighters had been deployed to tackle a blaze that it triggered.

Japan occupied Indonesia, which was at the time the Dutch East Indies, from 1942 until 1945 during World War Two.