Fire at Makassar gas depot kills one

Andi Hajramurni and Alfi an Idris ,  THE JAKARTA POST ,  MAKASSAR, JAKARTA   |  Sun, 06/14/2009 12:11 PM  |  Headlines

After the Inferno: Firefi ghters work to extinguish a blaze at a Pertamina liquid petroleum gas (LPG) depot in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Saturday morning. The driver of an oil tanker died and three others were injured in the incident. JP/ANDI HAJRAMURNI

One person was killed and three were injured when a fire broke out at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) depot belonging to state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina near a densely populated residential area in Makassar on Saturday.

The victim was identified as fuel tanker driver Najamuddin, 40, of Takalar regency. Reports suggest he may have fallen asleep while waiting his turn to refill his vehicle, as his body was found inside the cab of his truck.

Pertamina spokesman Basuki Trikora Putra told reporters in Jakarta the fire broke out as tankers were being filled with LPG. Witnesses said two tankers were being filled with LPG, when a LPG hose became loose and fell, hitting the ground, which was covered with an iron plate. The ensuing spark caused an immediate blaze at the local retail fuel unit.

"The fire spread quickly because the gas gauge was open," Jupri, one of the drivers whose truck was being loaded, said.

Jupri said he fl ed the blaze, but not before it burned his ears and part of his shirt.

The fire, which started at about 9 a.m. and took over an hour and a half to extinguish, also destroyed a gas tube fi lling shed, four tankers and hundreds of 12 and 3 kilogram gas tubes.

The fire prompted residents living in a residential complex opposite the fi lling station to fl ee their homes.

Three LPG reservoir tanks, with a total capacity of 2,500 metric tons, posed the threat of a much larger incident.

Tanks which can 1,000 metric tons of LPG had reportedly been fi lled the night before the fi re. Thankfully, these larger stores of the highly infl ammable substance were not ignited by the blaze.

Makassar Mayor Ilham Arief Siradjuddin said at the site of the fire that according to the municipality's spatial planning policy the fuel depot had to be relocated. This regulation was made following a previous fire at the same depot.

The municipal administration ruled that the fuel depot is too close to residential areas, as well as the Soekarno-Hatta Port.

The mayor however said that Rp 700 billion (US$69 million) would be needed to relocate the residents.

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