Indonesian firefighters extinguish deadly fire at fuel depot

JAKARTA — At least 14 people were killed and dozens injured in the Indonesian capital on Friday after a massive fire broke out at a government fuel storage facility before firefighters got it under control, the military said.

“Right now 14 victims have died,” Army Chief of Staff Dudung Abdurachman told reporters, adding that the fire at state-owned Pertamina’s facility in Jakarta injured at least 42 others.

The cause of the fire, which started after 8 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), was not clear.

Among the injured are three children between the ages of three and four who are in serious condition, Jakarta acting governor Heru Budi Hartono told Kompas TV.

The fire forced the evacuation of densely populated areas nearby but was extinguished several hours after it broke out, army chief Dudung Abdurachman told reporters.

“The fire is already out,” he said.

The military chief and Pertamina said they are investigating the cause.

“Pertamina is focused on fighting the fire and evacuating nearby workers and residents to a safer location,” the company said in a statement.

– Second fire in years –

The oil and gas company’s chief executive, Nicke Widyawati, said it would conduct “a full internal assessment… to prevent a similar event from recurring.”

Heru said the Indonesian government will help treat the injured

Erick Thohir, the country’s minister for state-owned enterprises, expressed his condolences to those killed and injured.

“We are all saddened by his tragedy,” he said in a statement, urging Pertamina to fully investigate the incident.

Footage shared on social media, which could not be immediately verified, showed people screaming and fleeing through narrow streets, with an inferno raging in the sky behind them.

North Jakarta Fire Chief Satriadi Gunawan told AFP that firefighters initially received reports that a pipe had burst at the depot and officials worked quickly to stop the fire from reaching nearby residential areas.

The Jakarta Main Fire Station said it deployed 51 units and more than 250 firefighters at the Plumpang depot in north Jakarta.

In 2021, a massive fire broke out at the Balongan refinery in West Java, also owned by state oil company Pertamina and one of Indonesia’s largest oil refineries.

The fire raged for two days and, after a massive explosion, resulted in the evacuation of thousands.