Jakarta, Indonesia — Indonesian rescuers and firefighters searched for possible victims under the rubble of charred houses and buildings on Saturday after a large fire broke out at a fuel depot in the capital, killing at least 15 people and leaving 16 others missing.
The Plumpang fuel storage station, operated by the state oil and gas company Pertamina, is near a densely populated area in the Tanah Merah neighborhood of North Jakarta. It supplies 25% of Indonesia’s fuel needs.
At least 260 firefighters and 52 fire engines managed to extinguish the blaze just before midnight on Friday, after a fire raged in the neighborhood for more than two hours, fire officials said. They worked to secure the area on Saturday.
Video of the fire broadcast on television late Friday showed hundreds of people in the community running in panic as thick plumes of black smoke and orange flames filled the sky and firefighters battled the blaze.
A preliminary investigation showed that the fire broke out when a pipeline broke during heavy rain, possibly from lightning, said Eko Kristiawan, Pertamina’s area manager for the western part of Java.
Residents living near the depot said they smelled a strong smell of petrol, causing some people to vomit, after which thunder rumbled twice, followed by a large explosion around 8pm.
Sri Haryati, a mother of three, said the fire started spreading in her neighborhood about 20 minutes later, causing immediate panic among residents.
“I cried and immediately took our precious documents and ran with my husband and children,” said Haryati.
She said she heard smaller explosions echoing in the residential area as orange flames shot from the warehouse compound and plumes of black smoke billowed out.
Data from the Indonesian Red Cross command center said the death toll was revised to 15 from 17 after authorities found that some victims had been counted twice. Rescuers continue to search for 16 people who have been reported missing or separated from their families amid the chaos. About 49 people were receiving treatment in five hospitals, some of them in critical condition.
Acting Jakarta Governor Heru Budi Hartono said about 600 displaced people were taken to temporary shelters in government offices, a Red Cross command post and a sports stadium.
Pertamina President Director Nicke Widyawati apologized for the incident and said the company would provide aid to the affected communities.
She said the company is working closely with related institutions and law enforcement to investigate the cause of the fire at the warehouse.
“We will carry out a thorough assessment and reflection internally to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” Widyawati said in a statement, adding that the company has assured that the supply of fuel oil will be safe.
The company will use fuel supplies from a number of Pertamina’s fuel terminals on the island of Java and support the Cilacap and Balongan refineries, which are piped by sea to the Tanjung Priok terminal in North Jakarta.
As investigators tried to piece together what happened, bereaved relatives went to the police hospital morgue in East Jakarta on Saturday morning to identify their loved ones. Officials said all the bodies were burned beyond recognition.
“The condition of the corpses made them difficult to recognize … they could only be identified through DNA and dental data,” said Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko, the Jakarta Police spokesman.
Friday’s fire was the second major fire at the Plumpang fuel depot. In 2014, a fire engulfed at least 40 nearby houses, but no casualties were reported.
Fahmi Radhi, an energy analyst at Gajah Mada University, urged Pertamina and the government to immediately move the deposit away from nearby community facilities.
“Pertamina was negligent in not using international standard security systems,” he said in an interview with Kompas TV. He said that since the fire of 2014, there has been no effort to put such a system in place and that regular inspection should be carried out to avoid future fires.
“The board of directors of Pertamina must be held responsible for this most lethal fire to be fired immediately,” Radhi said.
An oil spill in 2018 caused a fire that killed five people and sickened hundreds in the port city of Balikpapan. Authorities said it came from a broken pipe that Pertamina used to transfer crude oil.
In March 2021, a fire at the Cilacap gasoline storage facility at the largest oil refinery on the main island of Java prompted the evacuation of 80 nearby residents and injured at least 20 people. Cilacap is one of six Pertamina refineries with a processing capacity of 270,000 barrels per day. Eight months later, more than 900 people were evacuated after a fire broke out at the Pertamina Balongan Refinery in West Java province.