JAKARTA, March 4 (AFP) - At least 17 people have been killed and dozens injured in a massive blaze at a state-run fuel storage depot in Indonesia's capital.

The inferno burned several houses, caused people to flee in panic and forced the evacuation of residential areas near the depot run by energy firm Pertamina in north Jakarta, officials said.

The Jakarta fire and rescue department said 17 people were killed in Friday's blaze, which injured at least 50 more.

Many of those killed and injured suffered severe burns after the fire broke out, department chief Satriadi Gunawan told AFP.

The blaze was put out several hours after it started, army chief of staff Dudung Abdurachman told reporters.

"The fire is already extinguished," he said.

Gunawan said firefighters were working on "cooling" the fire area after bringing it under control.

The cause of the fire, which started after 8 pm local time (1300 GMT), was not clear.

The military chief Abdurachman and Pertamina said they were investigating the cause.

"Pertamina is focused on handling the fire and evacuating workers and residents nearby to a safer location," the company said in a statement.

The oil and gas firm's chief executive Nicke Widyawati said it would "conduct a full internal evaluation... to prevent the reoccurrence of a similar event."

She said the country's fuel supply had not been disrupted, remaining secure through backup supplies from the nearest available terminals.