Massive Fire Broke Out At Indonesia’s Pertamina Fuel Storage Facility, 17 Killed

JAKARTA: In Jakarta, Indonesia, the state-run energy company, Pertamina's fuel storage facility caught fire on Friday, killing at least 17 people.

The footage revealed that some houses were burnt down and terrified residents of the highly populated neighbourhoods fled with their possessions.

According to Rahmat Kristanto, a representative of the firefighting unit,  50 people were hurt in the incident, including one child.

The government will cover the medical bills of the injured, according to Heru Budi Hartono, acting governor of Jakarta.

Videos posted on social media contained sounds of explosions, but there was no confirmation about the authenticity.

Locals gathered in the vicinity of the storage facility as firefighters carried orange corpse bags from the fire. According to Jakarta's disaster-mitigation agency, locals were relocated to nearby mosques.

A local named Siswandi, 21, described the situation as "chaotic, as we were fleeing out alongside injured victims who were partly burned, and it generated fear among everyone". 

The main fire station in Jakarta's call centre reported that 51 units had been sent to the Plumpang neighbourhood in North Jakarta and described the fire as being enormous.

In a statement, Pertamina stated that the incident's cause was still under investigation and that evacuation procedures were still in place.

The business claimed that because it planned to transfer supply from other terminals, the fuel supply for the Jakarta area remained secure.

Pertamina chief executive officer Nicke Widyawati apologised for the fire and stated the company would "reflect internally to avoid similar situations from ever occurring again." Over 300,000 kiloliters of fuel can be stored at the station, according to the nation's energy ministry.

One of Indonesia's largest oil refineries, the Balongan refinery in West Java, which is also controlled by the national oil corporation Pertamina, experienced a catastrophic fire in 2021.

After a large explosion, the fire raged for two days and forced many to flee.

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