Three workers die in refinery accident

Three workers were killed and four others were seriously burned in a work accident at the state-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina Refinery Unit IV in Cilacap, Central Java, on Tuesday evening.

As of Wednesday afternoon, no clear information regarding the accident had been released by the company. Information that has leaked out, however, indicates that three of the seven contract workers fell into a sludge oil container in the refinery unit, while the remaining four were burnt when they tried to rescue the victims.

PT Pertamina refutes the information, saying that the workers did not fall into the container.

“Yes, they were found dead and seriously burnt at the refinery area after conducting routine maintenance,” the refinery unit’s public relations manager, Ruseno, said on Wednesday.

He added the workers were performing maintenance on Tank 38-T103, which contained crude oil, when the accident happened at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Ruseno, however, declined to explain the cause of death, arguing that the chronology of the accident was still under investigation by the Cilacap Police. “We will explain later,” he said.

The three dead were identified as Chen Liang from Jakarta, Doni from Tanjung Balai Karimun and Rafli Rio Basla from Payakumbuh, West Sumatra. The four critically injured were identified as Ari Dana Prabowo (Tangerang), Turyono (Ciamis), Fahmi Hendaraji (Pekanbaru) and Sastro (Pekanbaru). They are currently receiving medical treatment at the Cilacap Pertamina Hospital (RSPC).

Tuesday’s accident is not the first to occur at Pertamina’s Cilacap refinery unit.

A similar accident took place in 2008, killing two workers who were conducting routine maintenance at the refinery.