At least 16 people were killed in a blaze at a fuel storage center operated by Indonesia’s state energy company Pertamina in the capital Jakarta on Friday, an official from the city’s main fire department said.
The blaze, which started shortly after 8 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), gutted some homes and sent nearby residents in densely populated areas into panic, some of whom fled with their belongings, footage from broadcasters showed. came to know from
According to Rahmat Cristanto, a fire brigade official, two of the 16 dead were children, while 50 people, including a child, were injured.
Jakarta’s acting governor Heru Budi Hartono told reporters that most of the injured suffered burns and the government would pay for their treatment.
Explosions could be heard in footage shared on social media, although Reuters was not immediately able to authenticate the clips.
Near the storage station, residents crowded the area while firefighters carried orange bags from the blaze. Jakarta’s disaster-mitigation agency said residents were taken to nearby mosques.
Siswandi, a 21-year-old resident, said the scene was “chaotic, as we were running with injured victims who were half-burnt, and it caused panic among people,” adding that he lost all his valuable documents from his possession. Were taking home
The call center of Jakarta’s main fire station said it had dispatched 51 units to the Plumpang area of North Jakarta, adding that the fire was very large.
Pertamina said in a statement that the cause of the incident is being investigated and evacuation efforts are ongoing.
The company said fuel supplies for the Jakarta region remained secure as it planned to divert supplies from other terminals.
Pertamina chief executive officer Nike Vidyavati apologized for the fire and said it would “reflect internally to avoid such incidents from happening again”.
According to the country’s Ministry of Energy, the fuel station has a capacity of over 300,000 kilo-litres.
