Residents Panic When Tank Fires In Pertamina Cilacap Refinery Area, Heavy Rain Power Also Goes Out

Refinery fire at PT Pertamina International Refinery (KPI) Unit Cilacap (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - A fire in the refinery area, PT Refinery Pertamina Internasional (KPI) Unit Cilacap, Central Java, occurred during heavy rain.

"When the fire broke out, the rain was very heavy. After a few minutes, the electricity went out, so it was pitch black," said a resident of Donan Village, Cilacap Regency, Andi (40) when contacted, Antara, Saturday, November 13 night.

He said this condition made the residents of Donan and Lomanis Villages panic, Central Cilacap District, which is located close to the Pertamina refinery.

Even in the WhatsApp group, he said, there were residents around Jalan Thamrin, Lomanis Village, who claimed to want to evacuate because their house was very close to the location of the fire.

"The fire was near the entrance to the refinery area. My house is about 350 meters from the refinery area," he said.

When asked about the possibility of an explosion when the fire broke out, Andi said he could not confirm it because it was raining heavily.

"Maybe because it was so heavy, the sound of the explosion was muffled by the rain. But when my son was out of the house, he heard a strange sound that might have come from an explosion that was muffled by the rain," he asserted.

In this regard, he hopes that Pertamina can immediately extinguish the fire.

Meanwhile, in a press release, Corporate Secretary of PT Pertamina International Refinery Ifki Sukarya stated that Pertamina is currently making maximum efforts to extinguish the tank fire in the Cilacap refinery area, Central Java.

According to him, the fire started around 19.20 WIB and occurred in a tank containing Pertalite products.

"Currently Pertamina does not know the exact cause of the fire," he said.

According to him, efforts to extinguish the fire were carried out intensively by using a High Capacity Foam Monitor on the burning tank, while the surrounding tanks were cooled with water sprinklers to prevent the fire from spreading.

Pertamina is currently checking the community around the incident area to ensure the community is in a safe condition. For people who are located in the area closest to the location, an evacuation will be carried out to move the community to a safer area.

Currently, Pertamina is also ensuring that the supply of fuel and LPG to the public is safe and uninterrupted.