JAKARTA: Three suspects have been named in connection to a deadly blaze at an Indonesian fireworks factory that killed 48 workers and was caused by sparks from welding equipment, police said Saturday, reports AFP.

The factory outside Jakarta had only been operating for six weeks when the ferocious fire broke out on Thursday, killing nearly half of the company's employees and injuring 45 others in one of Indonesia's worst industrial accidents in recent memory.

Factory owner Indra Liyono was named a suspect by police along with the company's operational director Andri Hartanto and welding equipment operator Subarna Ega.

The trio could face a maximum of five years in prison and a Rp 500 million ($37,000) fine for workplace negligence resulting in death.

"The witnesses' testimonies and forensic test revealed the cause of the fire was the welding equipment sparks which spread to the fireworks material," Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told a press conference.