Death toll rises in karaoke bar fire

The fire at the Heppi Karaoke bar burned for almost 12 hours

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A fire that raged for almost 12 hours in a karaoke bar on the Indonesian island of Sumatra has killed at least 40 people, fire officials say.

The death toll is expected to rise further still as more bodies are pulled from the burnt out ruins of the five-story club in the city of Palembang, about 420 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of the capital Jakarta.

Officials from the Firefighting Department in Palembang said the fire started at about 3:00 p.m. (0800 GMT) Sunday, but was not extinguished until 2:00 a.m. on Monday.

"Four identified bodies were found soon after the fire started. We think some guests were trapped in the fifth floor. We think there won't be any survivors left," South Sumatra police spokesman Arum Priyono told Reuters news agency.

Fire officials said the situation was made worse by the lack of exits from the multi-story Hepi Karaoke building, which prevented people from escaping and firefighters from entering.

AUDIO Atika Shubert reports on the challenge that faced firefighters as they battled the blaze. 948k / 1 min 28 secs WAV sound

Rescue workers were forced to blast a hole through the structure in order to get to the upper floors.

The building, with different bars and small restaurants on all five floors, did not appear to have any standard fire safety precautions such as a fire exit stairway or extinguishers, according to officials.

Firefighters sifted through the wreckage Monday afternoon, but had few hopes of finding survivors as some floors of the building remained too hot to be accessed. Crews will try again around daybreak Tuesday to reach the top floor of the building, where more bodies are believed to be.

Authorities have not said what caused the fire, although local media reported it was started by an electrical short-circuit.

Firefighters say that even the most basic safety precautions could have prevented any number of deaths.

-- CNN correspondent Atika Shubert contributed to this report.