Around 1,000 Residents Evacuated Due To Burning Of Pertamina Balongan Refinery

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - PT Pertamina (Persero) ensures the safety of residents around the scene by evacuating to a safe place. It is estimated that currently there are around 200 residents who were evacuated in the Pendopo of Indramayu Regency, around 400 people at the Indramayu Islamic Center, and around 350 residents at the Bumi Patra Housing Sports Hall.

Pertamina SVP Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Agus Suprijanto said Pertamina was seeking various forms of assistance to meet the needs of residents in evacuation centers. The residents who were evacuated came from Balongan village, which is located closest to the scene of the Pertamina refinery fire in the area.

"At the evacuation camps, Pertamina is preparing tools for preventing COVID-19 in the form of masks and hand sanitizers, and ensuring residents continue to carry out the health protocol for preventing COVID-19", Agus said in a written statement, Monday, March 29.

For logistics, he said, Pertamina would cooperate with the local government of Indramayu Regency to help provide consumption for residents in the evacuation camps. Apart from that, Pertamina has also prepared tarpaulins and the necessities of other residents in the evacuation camps.

Meanwhile, blackout efforts are still ongoing. Pertamina brought in an HSSE (Health Safety, Security and Environment) team from the closest refinery unit, namely the Pertamina Cilacap Refinery, Pertamina EP, Pertamina Plaju Refinery, and the Regional Disaster Management Agency in Indramayu to immediately seek to extinguish the refinery fires.

As is known, at 12.45 am this morning, an incident occurred which caused a fire in the T301G tank. The cause of the fire is not known with certainty, but at the time of the incident, the conditions were pouring rain and lightning.

The refinery that burned was the Balongan refinery located in Balongan Village, Indramayu District, West Java.