Jakarta  - A fire gutted a boarding house in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta early Thursday, killing eight people local media reports said.

The fire broke out at about 3 am (2000 GMT Wednesday) and immediately engulfed the two-story boarding house in West Jakarta suburb of Palmerah, when the residents were sleeping, said Tatang, an officer from the city's traffic police.

"All of the boarding occupants were asleep when the fire ravaged," Tatang, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency. "They did not have any time to rescue themselves from the fire."

One of the eight victims, identified only as Eri, 30, was in her eight month of pregnancy, the detik. com online news portal reported.

The blaze, suspected to be caused by a short-circuit, could be extinguished after one hour.

All of the charred bodies were taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital for autopsies, while an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire. (dpa)