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At least 17 people, including two children, have died after a fuel storage depot fire in Jakarta.
Three people are still missing after Friday night’s blaze at state energy firm Pertamina’s Plumpang depot in north Jakarta, with Indonesian officials the next day calling for an audit of “all fuel facilities and infrastructures” in the country.
Sixty people were injured, with many severely burned, while hundreds more living in residential areas near the depot had to be evacuated.
“It started with a very strong smell. It was so strong that we could hardly breathe,” witness Swastono Aji said.
“Then we were leaving this area when we suddenly heard a very loud explosion.”
The Indonesia vice-president, Ma’ruf Amin, visited the scene on Saturday and confirmed 17 people were killed and 60 more injured.
He suggested the depot should be moved away from residential neighbourhoods.
“I hope this depot can be relocated … so it will be safer and this area will be rearranged so it meets the requirements of a proper neighbourhood in the capital,” he told reporters.
The national police chief, Listyo Sigit, also speaking at the site, said at least three people were still missing.
Top officials have called for an investigation into the cause of the fireuse and an audit of the country’s energy facilities after several recent blazes.
“After we had multiple fires … it is clear that we must audit all fuel facilities and infrastructures, especially tanks and refineries,” Sugeng Suparwoto, the head of the parliament’s energy commission, told local broadcaster Metro TV on Saturday.
In 2021, a fire broke out at the Balongan refinery in West Java, also owned by Pertamina and one of Indonesia’s biggest such facilities.
There were also fires at the same depot in 2009 and 2014 – when the flames spread to 40 houses nearby. No casualties were reported in either of those cases.
Erick Thohir, the minister of state-owned enterprises, said in an Instagram post late on Friday: “I instructed Pertamina to immediately investigate this case and we are now focusing on helping the people. There must be an operational evaluation in the future.”
The morning after the fire, homes stacked up against the barbed wire fences of the Pertamina facility were gutted and blackened, with rows of cars burnt out.
One child stood in the middle of the debris, surveying the scorched scene as emergency workers evacuated one of the dead in a body bag.
“It was like a bomb, it was like a mini apocalypse. It was unimaginable,” said witness Jamilul Asror, 45, calling on authorities to relocate residents farther away. “Pertamina is being reckless. This depot is way too close.”
Footage broadcast on Friday night showed people screaming and fleeing through narrow roads with an inferno lighting up the sky behind them.
A fireball could be seen across the skyline of north Jakarta with sirens wailing in the background.
The military and Pertamina said they were investigating the cause of the tragedy.
The Jakarta fire and rescue chief, Satriadi Gunawan, said firefighters initially received reports a pipe had burst at the depot.
The oil and gas firm’s chief executive, Nicke Widyawati, said the country’s fuel supply had not been disrupted.
Jakarta’s acting governor, Heru Budi Hartono, said the government would pay for the treatment of the injured, many who remained in hospital Saturday.
The North Jakarta Red Cross said 342 people had been evacuated and that four tents had been set up for displaced people.
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