Explosion at Pertamina oil refinery

Five people are understood to have been badly burned following an explosion at Pertamina’s Balongan oil refinery in West Javaa, Indonesia. More than 1,000 workers from the facility and nearby residents have been evacuated from the area.

Speaking at a press conference at Pertamina's Jakarta head office, President Director of Pertamina, Nicke Widyawati, explained that the incident occurred in the fuel storage tank area, affecting some 2 hectares of the total 180 hectares of the Balongan site. She added that just four of the refinery’s 72 tanks were involved in the incident, accounting for about 7% of the total storage capacity at Balongan. Efforts to extinguish remaining fire hotspots using seawater were continuing, she said.

The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined.