Pertamina plant fire could rage on until next week

The fire at a Pertamina refinery in Cilacap, Central Java, could last for the next couple of days as firefighters plan to continue sending trucks to the location until Monday.

An explosion that set off the fire occurred at one of the tanks in the refinery early Saturday. The fire spread to a nearby tank after firefighters were unable to put out the fire by noon.

“We will continue fighting the fire until Monday,” Pertamina secretary Hary Karyulianto said Saturday.

He added that strong easterly winds continued to fan the flames, forcing Pertamina to bring in foam to cool other tanks close to the fire.

“We flew in five tons of foam to Tunggulwulung airport in Cilacap,” he was quoted as saying by news portal tempointeraktif.com.

However, Pertamina still needs 35 tons of foam to deal with the fire.

“The remaining 35 tons will come in tonight,” he said, adding that refinery operations were still at normal levels.

Central Java Police chief Ins. Gen. Edward Aritonang said police would escort the shipment of foam to the refinery.

“Our forensic laboratory staff are on standby as well,” he added.