Pertamina Denies That There Was An Explosion And Fire At The Tapak Kuda Kendari Gas Station

Tread Horse Kendari gas station/ Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - PT. Pertamina Patra Niaga Regional Sulawesi stated that there were no incidents of fire or explosion at the Tapak Kuda gas station on Jalan ZA Sugianto, Korumba Village, Mandonga District, Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra).

Public Relations of PT. Pertamina Patra Niaga Sulawesi Regional Taufik Kurniawan, citing Antara news, Sunday, August 7, dismissed the issue of an explosion incident at the Tapak Kuda Kendari gas station on Saturday, August 6, at around 17.00 WITA.

"So after our independent investigation, it was not true that there was an explosion or fire. At the Pertamax and Dexlite pumps there was an electrical short circuit which caused smoke," he said.

He explained that at the Pertamax and Dexlite pumps, there was an electrical short circuit which caused smoke but did not cause an explosion.

Due to this incident, the operator immediately turned on the emergency button on the dispenser pump machine. Then sprayed a fire extinguisher (APAR) to avoid things that are not desirable.

"So if in the amateur video there is a puff of white and white smoke, it is the fire extinguisher that was sprayed into the pump," he explained.

Taufik also added that in the incident there was no element of sabotage but it was purely due to ordinary damage, namely an electrical short in the engine part of the fuel pump.

"Currently, technicians are carrying out repairs as well as investigating the cause of the short circuit which needs maintenance. We are trying to make repairs as soon as possible so that the Tapak Kuda gas station can operate normally again," he said.

Previously, the Tapak Kuda Public Fuel Filling Station (SPBU) on Jalan ZA Sugianto, Korumba Village, Mandonga District, Kendari City, Southeast Sulawesi (Sultra) caught fire as a result of an electrical short circuit in one of the dispenser machines.

Kendari Police Chief Kombes Pol Muhammad Eka Faturrahman via text message said the incident occurred on Saturday, August 6 at around 17:10 WITA, but gas station officers quickly contained the fire with fire extinguishers.