H

uge explosions and subsequent fire at a refinery run by state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina in Cilacap, Central Java, caused panic among locals on Saturday.

As of Saturday evening the fire was still not extinguished, forcing people in the neighborhood to flee their homes over fears of further
destruction.

No fatalities were reported in the incident because the explosion occurred on a non-working day.

Despite the extensive damage, refinery officials said the fire would not affect production at the plant.

“We have not identified the cause of the explosion. We are still investigating it and our main focus is on cooling the area around the burning unit to prevent the fire from expanding to other units,” refinery public relations head Kurdi Susanto said.

He added that the blast occurred at 4:55 a.m. at the tank 3102 container that held 60,000 kiloliters of light oil HOMC (high-octane mogas component). The container is located in the company’s office compound and would not affect the production of fuels, Kurdi said.

“There is no need to panic. The explosion will not affect the country’s fuel supply because production will continue to run,” he said.

He said firefighters continued to cool other containers in the compound although they were already equipped with automatic cooling systems that could operate during such incidents.

“The additional cooling will ensure maximum protection,” Kurdi said.

Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion that shook the walls and windows of their houses.

“It felt like an earthquake,” said Yuniati, whose house is located 100 meters from the blast site.

She said she heard the blast just after the call to morning prayers call from neighborhood mosques.

“After that the fire began rising high into the sky and there was thick smoke,” she said.

Susi, who lives across the street from the Pertamina building, echoed Yuniati’s statements. “I was so shocked because the explosion was very loud, like a bomb. We immediately left the house and fled,” she said.

As of 9 p.m. on Saturday, strong winds had fanned the fire to the nearby tank 3103.

Refinery workers had attempted to empty tank 3103 but the fire spread quickly.

Firefighters were busy extinguishing the fire while Pertamina security officers, police and soldiers secured the premises. They blocked access to the refinery that processes 400,000 barrels of oil daily.

Pertamina officials could not say how long the fire would burn.

The fire is predicted to be able to burn for the next few days as firefighters plan to continue sending trucks to the location until Monday.

“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 blaze.

“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 situation.

“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.