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JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian rescuers and firefighters on Saturday looked for greater than a dozen lacking beneath the rubble of charred homes and buildings, after a big hearth unfold from a gasoline storage depot within the capital and killed a minimum of 18 folks.
The Plumpang gasoline storage station, operated by state-run oil and gasoline firm Pertamina, is close to a densely populated space within the Tanah Merah neighborhood in North Jakarta. It provides 25% of Indonesia’s gasoline wants.
A minimum of 260 firefighters and 52 hearth engines extinguished the blaze simply earlier than midnight on Friday after it tore by way of the neighborhood for greater than two hours, hearth officers mentioned.
Footage confirmed a whole lot of individuals operating in panic as thick plumes of black smoke and orange flames crammed the sky.
A preliminary investigation confirmed the hearth broke out when a pipeline ruptured throughout heavy rain, probably triggered by a lightning strike, mentioned Eko Kristiawan, Pertamina’s space supervisor for the western a part of Java.
Residents residing close to the depot mentioned they smelled a robust odor of gasoline, inflicting some folks to vomit, after which thunder rumbled twice, adopted by an enormous explosion round 8 p.m.
Sri Haryati, a mom of three, mentioned the hearth started to unfold about 20 minutes later, inflicting panic.
“I used to be crying and instantly grabbed our helpful paperwork and ran with my husband and kids,” Haryati mentioned, including that she heard smaller blasts that echoed throughout the neighborhood as orange flames jumped from the depot.
Rescuers had been looking for 16 individuals who had been reported lacking or separated from their households amid the chaos. About 42 folks had been receiving remedy in 5 hospitals, a few of them in important situation.
Nationwide Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo mentioned greater than 1,300 folks had been displaced and taking shelter in 10 authorities workplaces, a Pink Cross command publish and a sport stadium.
He mentioned investigators had been nonetheless working to determine the reason for the hearth and questioning dozens of witnesses.
Pertamina’s head Nicke Widyawati apologized and mentioned the corporate would supply assist to the group and cooperate within the investigation.
“We’ll perform a radical analysis and reflection internally to forestall related incidents from occurring once more,” Widyawati mentioned in an announcement, including that the corporate ensured the secure provide of gasoline oil.
On Saturday, grieving kinfolk gathered at a police hospital’s morgue in jap Jakarta to attempt to establish their family members. Officers mentioned the victims had been burned past recognition and will solely be recognized by way of DNA and dental data.
In 2014, a hearth on the identical gasoline depot engulfed a minimum of 40 homes, however no casualties had been reported.
Indonesia’s State Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir informed reporters that the federal government will remap secure zones for residential areas away from important objects.
He mentioned the incident confirmed the Plumpang space is just not secure for the group, and the federal government is planning to maneuver the gasoline storage depot to Tanjung Priok port in northern Jakarta.
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