At least 15 killed, 40 injured in illegal Indonesia oil well fire

At least 15 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a huge blaze at an illegal oil well in Indonesia, authorities said on Wednesday.

Flames towered over houses and trees as firefighters hosed down the area while villagers looked on, pictures posted on social media by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, showed.

"We are still collecting data on the number of victims because the fire has not been extinguished," the agency said in a statement.

The fire had broken out about 1.30am (2.30am, Singapore time) in a residential area on Sumatra island's Aceh province, after a well of depth 250 metres (820 ft) overflowed and residents gathered to collect the oil.

Dozens of people were taken to hospital in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, several hours away, the agency said, adding that state oil firm Pertamina was providing equipment to help fight the fire.

"There was a group of people digging in the old well but suddenly a huge fire was sparked and it exploded," said national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto.

Police said the victims were collecting oil from around the entrance of a wellbore when the blaze erupted.

At least eight fire trucks had been deployed to douse the blaze.