Fire at a landfill in Indonesia's most populous province has been declared an emergency by local authorities as thick and putrid smoke from the blaze chokes nearby residents.

West Java regent Hengky Kurniawan made this known, stressing that the fire at the Sarimukti landfill in Indonesia's West Java province, which serves the city of Bandung, started burning since Tuesday.

Kurniawan added that the incident forced the local government to declare a 21-day state of emergency in the area.

He also blamed the fire on discarded cigarette butts, as he called on residents not to throw them away carelessly especially in this drought season.

The regent further added that authorities were not well-equipped to douse the fire, stressing that water bombs were dropped from helicopters sent by the country's national disaster management agency.

Access24 reports that Local Health Clinic noted that at least 67 people that live near the landfill were diagnosed with mild respiratory infections, as two people got hospitalised due to the effects of the toxic fire.