Rescuers carry the body of a victim of a fire in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, March 3, 2023 (Photo: apnews.com) Jakarta (VNA) - The death toll in a fire at an Indonesian fuel storagedepot run by state energy firm Pertamina has risen to 33 with nearly a dozenmore in critical condition, health authorities said on March 24.
Jakarta health agency spokesman Luigi said 11 people are still beingtreated in the ICU and their condition is serious.
On March 3, a blaze ripped through a nearby residential area, gutting housesand burning cars next to the depot in the capital city of Jakarta. It reportedly supplies 25% of Indonesia's fuel needs.
President Joko Widodo visited survivors and called onJakarta's governor and ministers to find a solution to fuel depots located nearresidential areas to avoid a repeat disaster.
An oil spill in 2018 caused a fire that killed fivepeople and sickened hundreds in the port city of Balikpapan. Authorities saidit came from a broken pipe that Pertamina was using to transfer crude oil.
In March 2021, a fire at Cilacap gasoline storagefacility at the largest oil refinery on the main island of Java prompted theevacuation of 80 nearby residents and injured at least 20 people. Cilacap isone of six Pertamina refineries with a processing capacity of 270,000 barrels aday.
Eight months later, more than 900 people were evacuated after a fire brokeout at the Pertamina Balongan Refinery in West Java province./.
