Indonesia: at least 17 dead in the fire of a fuel depot

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At least 17 people were killed and dozens injured on Friday in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, in a fire that broke out at a depot of fuel managed by the State and which the firefighters managed to bring under control, according to the authorities.

An investigation is underway to determine the origin of this incident which occurred after 8 p.m. local time (1 p.m. GMT ) at the facilities of the national oil company Pertamina, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Dudung Abdurachman told reporters.

There are at least 17 dead and 50 injured, Jakarta firefighters said on Twitter.

The fire, which was extinguished within hours, prompted the evacuation of densely populated neighborhoods nearby of the depot, located in the north of the city, according to the authorities.

🔴#BREAKING: A huge fire has broken out at a fuel storage depot belonging to the public energy company #Pertamina in North Jakarta, #Indonesia. At least 10 people were killed, several others injured. pic.twitter.com/rMQdvlHuVm

— LSI AFRICA (@lsiafrica) March 3, 2023

TV footage showed people fleeing through narrow streets with huge flames rising behind them towards the sky.

The capital's northern fire chief, Satriadi Gunawan, told AFP he had received preliminary information that a pipe had burst in the depot.

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He said his men, more than 250 in total, moved quickly to contain the fire from the Plumpang depot and prevent it from reaching nearby housing areas.

The chief executive of the national oil company Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, pledged to carry out “a thorough internal study in order to prevent a similar accident from happening again”.

She specified that the supply of fuel of the country had not been affected, other terminals taking over.

A fire broke out in 2009 in the same depot and another fire that occurred nearby affected 40 houses in 2014, with no casualties reported in either case.

In 2021, a huge fire broke out at the Balongan refinery, in the west of the island of Java, one of the largest in the country, also owned by Pertamina.

The fire had lasted two days and caused the evacuation of thousands of people after an explosion.