Deputy chief of the West Java Police, Brig. Gen. Rycko Amelza Dahniel, said the fire appeared to have been triggered by a leak caused by four people engaged in illegal tapping.

'€œThe suspects are currently on the list of fugitives. There are four of them,'€ he said in Bandung on Monday.

The fire left three people dead, including two children, and four others injured.

Rycko said detectives had gathered evidence and received a tip that suggested the involvement of a Pertamina employee who allegedly helped in the illicit action.

He said detectives had found a part of the pipeline, which was supposed to function as a protector for the main pipe, around 2 kilometers from the scene of the blaze.

'€œWe have also received testimony from a key witness regarding people who worked in the field, the financier and someone who cooperated with an insider in Pertamina,'€ he said without elaborating.

He said the perpetrators knew about the whereabouts of the underground pipeline by a stake indicating its location. They later built a food stall to cover their excavation activity.

Meanwhile, Milla Suciyani, Pertamina'€™s assistant manager for external relations at the Marketing Operation Region 3 overseeing West Java, Banten and Jakarta, said the damaged pipeline had been repaired and operations had returned to normal.

The pipeline transports diesel from the Balongan refinery to Jakarta.

The company was currently working to help victims and calculate the losses resulting from the accident, she added.

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