Around 20 people have died after a major fire tore through a seven-storey office building in Indonesia capital Jakarta on Tuesday.

The fire has been extinguished and efforts to find more possible victims inside the building continue, Susatyo Purnomo Condro, the head of Central Jakarta police, told reporters.

The fire erupted on the first floor at around midday, Condro said, and then spread to the upper floors. Some of the employees were having lunch in the building at the time while others had left the office, he said.

Thick smoke poured from the top levels as nearly 30 fire engines and around 100 personnel used aerial ladders to rescue people trapped inside.

Authorities say access to higher floors remains difficult as identification of the victims continues.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the death toll had reached 20, he said.

"Now, we are still focusing on evacuating victims and to do fire cooling," Condro said.

The building is the office of Terra Drone Indonesia, which provides drones for aerial survey activities with clients in the mining to agriculture sectors.

The company is the Indonesian unit of Japanese drone firm Terra Drone Corporation, according to the company's website.

Footage broadcast by Kompas TV showed dozens of fire fighters trying to evacuate the people inside, and some were carrying body bags from the building.

Some workers were also seen escaping from the high floors of the building using portable ladders.

Both companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment via email.

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