Toddler Burns Fire Of Blora Illegal Oil Well Dies, Total Becomes 5 Dead Victims

The illegal oil well fire in Gandu Village, Bogorejo District, Blora Regency, Central Java, again claimed victims, after a two-year-old toddler with the initials AD died after battling burns from the fire from the illegal oil well.

The Blora Regency BPBD Rapid Response Team (TRC) Agung Triyono confirmed the death toll from the illegal oil well fire, after the victim underwent intensive care at Dr. Sardjito Hospital Yogyakarta, but the burns suffered were too severe.

With the death of AD, he said, the number of victims who died as a result of the illegal oil well fire increased to five people. Previously, four victims died, namely Tanek (60), Sureni (52), Wasini (50), and Yeti (30).

Previously, RSUD dr. R. Soetijono Blora reported that one victim died with burns 90 percent, while the other four victims suffered burns 70 '90 percent.

The fire incident occurred on August 17 at around 11.30 WIB. In addition to killing fatalities, the fire also forced about 50 families to flee to relatives' homes.

The livestock were also affected; six cows and three goats were rescued, but one cow and two goats were burned to death. A number of houses were damaged, one house was heavily damaged and the other four were moderately damaged.

Blora Police Chief AKBP Wawan Andi Susanto explained that the fire was triggered by a blow out on an illegal oil well. The crude oil that flows in the ditch suddenly caught fire and the fire grabbed the drilling site.

"The fire then spread to a resident's house, killing a cow and scorched the back of the house," he said in Blora, Friday, which was confiscated by Antara.

The Blora Police have named three suspects in this case, namely SPR (46) a resident of Bogorejo as the owner of the land as well as the initiator of the drilling, ST (45) a resident of Tuban as a potential investor, and SHRT alias GD (42) a resident of Tuban as the implementer of the drilling.

The police confiscated a number of evidences in the form of drilling equipment, diesel machinery, water pumps, iron pipes, drums, and crude oil storage tanks. Material losses due to the fire are estimated at IDR 170 million.

The three suspects were charged with Article 52 of Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning Job Creation which amended the Oil and Gas Law, with a maximum threat of six years in prison and a fine of Rp. 60 billion. They are also suspected of Article 359 of the Criminal Code junto Article 55 of the Criminal Code concerning negligence that causes people to die, with a threat of five years in prison.

The fire was only successfully extinguished on Saturday, August 23 at around 18.35 WIB after a joint team from BPBD Blora, Damkar, Pertamina, TNI-Polri, and volunteers struggled for days.

The process of extinguishing the fire lasted a long time because the high pressure gas bursts made the fire continue to burn.