At the very least 260 firefighters and 52 fireplace engines extinguished the blaze simply earlier than midnight on Friday after it tore via the neighborhood for greater than two hours, fireplace officers mentioned.

Footage confirmed a whole bunch of individuals operating in panic as thick plumes of black smoke and orange flames stuffed the sky.

A preliminary investigation confirmed the hearth broke out when a pipeline ruptured throughout heavy rain, presumably triggered by a lightning strike, mentioned Eko Kristiawan, Pertamina’s space supervisor for the western a part of Java.

Residents dwelling close to the depot mentioned they smelled a robust odor of gasoline, inflicting some folks to vomit, after which thunder rumbled twice, adopted by an enormous explosion round 8 p.m.

Sri Haryati, a mom of three, mentioned the hearth started to unfold about 20 minutes later, inflicting panic.

“I used to be crying and instantly grabbed our helpful paperwork and ran with my husband and kids,” Haryati mentioned, including that she heard smaller blasts that echoed throughout the neighborhood as orange flames jumped from the depot.

Rescuers had been looking for 16 individuals who had been reported lacking or separated from their households amid the chaos. About 49 folks had been receiving therapy in 5 hospitals, a few of them in essential situation.

Nationwide Police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo mentioned greater than 1,300 folks had been displaced and taking shelter in 10 authorities places of work, a Purple Cross command submit and a sport stadium.

He mentioned investigators had been nonetheless working to ascertain the reason for the hearth and questioning dozens of witnesses.

Pertamina’s head Nicke Widyawati apologized and mentioned the corporate would supply assist to the neighborhood and cooperate within the investigation.

“We’ll perform an intensive analysis and reflection internally to forestall related incidents from occurring once more,” Widyawati mentioned in a press release, including that the corporate ensured the protected provide of gas oil.

On Saturday, grieving relations gathered at a police hospital’s morgue in jap Jakarta to attempt to determine their family members. Officers mentioned the victims had been burned past recognition and will solely be recognized via DNA and dental data.

In 2014, a fireplace on the similar gas depot engulfed a minimum of 40 homes, however no casualties had been reported.

Indonesia’s State Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir advised reporters that the federal government will remap protected zones for residential areas away from important objects.

He mentioned the incident confirmed the Plumpang space is just not protected for the neighborhood, and the federal government is planning to maneuver the gas storage depot to Tanjung Priok port in northern Jakarta.