Police Send Forensic Team to Probe Pertamina's Oil Refinery Fire

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Police have deployed a forensic laboratory team to investigate the fire that broke out at a fuel storage tank at Pertamina's refinery complex in Cilacap, Central Java.

"The Indonesian Police Headquarter has sent a team of Inafis (Automatic Finger Print Identification System) and Puslabfor (forensic laboratory center) to the location," a spokesman of the Indonesian Police Senior Commissioner Ahmad Ramadhan told the press at the Police' Mobile Brigade headquarters in Depok, West Java on Sunday.

Ramadhan said, the police questioned five witnesses in the incident that include one official of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and four witnesses at the scene.

The police  also questioned officers at the refinery's Tank 36 T-102, collect CCTV data and other documents.

"We have secured the location and sterilized the main access," he added.

The police would conduct investigation at the scene as soon as the location is confirmed safe.

A tank of Pertamina's refinery in Cilacap containing Pertalite components was caught on fire on Saturday (Nov 13) at 7:10 p.m. local time during heavy rain and lightning.

As many as 80 residents near the refinery were evacuated to Baitul Munir Mosque and Lomanis Village Office. No civilian casualties were reported.

The fire was successfully extinguished on Sunday morning at 7:45 a.m. local times by firefighters in the field.

President Director of PT Pertamina Nicke Widyawati ensured that the fire incident at the Cilacap refinery did not affect the fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution.

Read: Pertamina's Cilacap Oil Refinery Catches Fire, Ahok Ensures Normal Operation

ANTARA