Indonesian rescuers and firefighters are searching for three people who are still missing after a large fire spread from a fuel storage depot in Jakarta and killed at least 19 people.
260 firefighters and 52 fire engines extinguished the fire just before midnight on Friday after it wrecked the neighborhood for more than two hours, fire officials said.
The Plumpang fuel storage station, operated by state-run oil and gas company Pertamina. The storage is located close to a highly populated area in North Jakarta. It provides 25% of Indonesia’s fuel needs.
Footage shows hundreds of people running in panic as flames from the storage filled the sky.
A preliminary investigation shows the fire was caused by a technical problem involving excess pressure as the depot received fuel. No further details has been disclosed as investigators are still working to confirm the cause of the fire.
Three are still missing
Sunday, rescuers were still searching for three people who have been reported missing. About 35 people are receiving treatment in five different hospitals. Some of them are in critical condition. More than 1,300 people have been relocated and taking shelter.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the fire-hit areas on Sunday to reassure people that the government would help those in need.
Pertamina has apologized and said that the company would provide help to the community and cooperate in the investigation.
In 2014, a fire at the same fuel depot consumed at least 40 houses, but no casualties were reported. The government is now planning to move the fuel storage depot away from the populated area to Tanjung Priok port in northern Jakarta.
Source: sacbee.com
