Police Explanation About The Cilacap Oil Refinery Fire Which Could Only Be Extinguished 12 Hours Later

Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police Public Relations Division, Kombes Ahmad Ramadhan/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - The National Police stated that the process of extinguishing the 36T-102 Tank fire in the area of PT Pertamina International Refinery (KPI) Unit Cilacap took a long time. Because it took 12 hours for the fire to completely extinguish.

"This incident began with a fire at around 7:10 p.m. local time and it was successfully extinguished for 12 hours," said Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police Public Relations Division, Kombes Ahmad Ramadhan, to reporters on Monday, November 15.

However, Ramadhan did not specify how many firefighters were deployed to tame the fire.

But Ramadhan said that from the results of witness statements, it was suspected that the cause of the fire was due to a lightning strike. This allegation is supported by information from the BMKG.

"One witness from the BMKG said that on that day there were two lightning points with a distance of 45 kilometers and another 12 kilometers," he said.

In the future, the police will ask for witness statements. Thus, it can further strengthen the cause of the fire.

"Later on, it will also be strengthened by expert information to find out how lightning from a long distance can induce induction, causing flashes of light," said Ramadhan.

The tank refinery 36 T-102 containing Pertalite components belonging to Pertamina Cilacap, Central Java, caught fire on Saturday, November 14, at 19.10 WIB, during heavy rain accompanied by lightning. There were no fatalities in this incident.

In an effort to investigate the cause of the fire, the National Police have deployed a team of Inafis and the Forensic Laboratory. Both teams will look for evidence and clues to conclude the cause of the fire.