A large fire broke out Friday evening at a fuel storage depot in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, killing at least 17 people.
Officials say the fire spread from the Plumpang fuel station, owned by state energy company Pertamina, to the nearby neighborhood of Tanah Merah in North Jakarta.
Video from Indonesian broadcasters showed hundreds of people in the densely populated neighborhood running in panic, while firefighters worked to put out the flames.
Officials said two of the fatalities were children and said 50 other residents had been hospitalized with injuries, some with severe burns.
They said more than 600 people had been evacuated since the fire broke out around 8:00 p.m. local time.
At Koja Hospital, Iis Iswanti told VOA that her nephew was in the ICU suffering injuries from the fire.
“My nephew was 90% burned. If only he had not walked towards that depot, he might have survived. But he was walking towards that area when there was a fire and then some explosions,” she said.
Nurida Maharahap was also at the hospital because a family member was being treated for injuries.
“He is seriously injured. He is in [the] ICU now. I really hope our government can help with the cost of [his] treatment,” she said.
Acting Jakarta Governor Heru Budi Hartono told reporters, “The government will bear all medical expenses of all those injured victims.”
The director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, said in a written statement that the company’s focus at this time was “extinguishing the fire and evacuating all residents near the fire location.”
“Pertamina will provide the best treatment for this community,” she added.
The Plumpang fuel storage station supplies about a quarter of Indonesia’s fuel needs, according to The Associated Press.
Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir said in a video statement that he has ordered Pertamina “to thoroughly investigate the fire and focus on assisting the community.”
“There must be an evaluation of this incident. I will monitor this case closely,” he said.
This is the third large fire at the Plumpang fuel station, following blazes in 2009 and 2014. The last fire burned 40 nearby houses but caused no casualties. – gb