[ad_1]
Indonesian officials have called for an investigation and audit of state energy company Pertamina’s facilities after a fire at a storage facility killed 15 people.
The fire, which started at around 8pm on Friday from a fuel pipe at the Pertamina Plumpang fuel warehouse in the capital Jakarta, quickly spread to nearby houses and panicked residents in the densely populated area.
Authorities initially put the death toll at 17 but later changed it to 15. Dozens were injured and more than a thousand people were displaced, the police said.
“I have ordered Pertamina to immediately investigate this case thoroughly,” said Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir via his Instagram page.
“There should be an operational review.”
The fire has been extinguished, and Pertamina said it has lifted the emergency status for the facility and restarted distribution activities, adding fuel supplies to Jakarta will remain safe.
Investigations are still underway to find the cause of the fire, but the company said in a statement that a pipe leak was detected before the fire.
The fire left dozens of houses and several cars on fire. Some residents were seen returning to their homes to check the extent of the damage or salvage belongings from the rubble.
Someone went from one hospital to another, looking for their missing relatives.
Sugeng Suparwoto, who is the chairman of the DPR energy committee, requested that Pertamina’s facilities be audited.
“All facilities, refineries or storage, must be re-audited,” he said on KompasTV, noting that Pertamina often has fires in these facilities.
In 2021, there was a big fire at the Pertamina refinery in Balongan and Cilacap.
A narrow road separates the facility from nearby houses
Sugeng also said that there should be more space between Pertamina’s storage facilities and settlements.
“For a facility that has the capacity of Plumpang, it should be at least one to two kilometers with residential areas.”
Plumpang Depot, with a storage capacity of more than 300,000 kiloliters, is one of Pertamina’s largest fuel terminals.
Dense residential areas stand outside Plumpang’s outer walls, separated only by narrow streets, Reuters witnesses said.
Residents around 30 minutes before the fire could smell fuel, said Abdul Syukur who lives nearby to KompasTV.
“The smell was so strong, some people vomited and some almost fainted,” he said.
[ad_2]
Source link