Deploy A Team, Police Open Opportunities To Investigate Pertamina Dumai Refinery Fires Like Dipo Plumpang

Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police Inspector General Pol. Sandi Nugroho. (ANTARA)

The National Police intervened to investigate the alleged explosion at the Putri Tujuh Pertamina Dumai Oil Refinery, Riau, Saturday, April 1 evening. A total of five workers were injured in this incident. The Head of the Public Relations Division of the National Police, Inspector General Sandi Nugroho, said that the National Police investigators first investigated the information related to the incident. If there is an alleged negligence, an investigation will be carried out according to the procedure as was done at Dipo Plumpang, North Jakarta. "We will confirm the information and if it is true, we will carry out procedures such as the crime scene in Plumpang (investigation)," Sandi said in Jakarta as quoted by Antara, Sunday, April 2. Bareskrim Polri will lower the investigation and the National Police Forensic Laboratory Center (Puslabfor) to investigate the explosion incident. "If the procedure is true, like at the Plumpang TKP, it will be carried out (submit a team of investigators and a Puslabfor)," said Sandi. Previously, a loud bang accompanied by strong vibrations allegedly came from the Putri Tujuh Pertamina RU II Dumai Oil Refinery, Riau Province, which occurred on Saturday night at around 22.40 WIB, causing a fire. Meanwhile, Pertamina RU II Spokesperson Dumai Agustiawan told reporters in Dumai in the early hours of Sunday, that five people affected by work accidents in the operator's room have now been taken to Pertamina Dumai Hospital for the best treatment. Currently, the Pertamina Emergency State Team has also succeeded in overcoming the incident in the Dumai Refinery compressor gas area. The fire was under control on Saturday night at around 22.54 WIB. Agustiawan said that currently, refinery operations in the affected units were temporarily suspended to ensure security at the location. Meanwhile, other units in Pertamina Dumai continue to operate normally. The cause of the incident itself is still unknown. "Currently the team continues to focus on ensuring safe conditions. Pertamina Dumai Refinery also continues to monitor to ensure that people around the refinery are not affected by this incident," said Agustiawan. The fire was previously accompanied by several explosions that were heard from a distance of up to 25 kilometers. The explosion also affected a number of buildings in the vicinity, including people's houses experiencing broken glass, cracked walls and falling mosque ceilings. Agustiawan ensured that Pertamina would be responsible for the impact of the incident. The explosion and fire at the Pertamina Dumai Oil Refinery occurred in less than a month from a fire incident at the BBM Terminal or Plumpang Depo, North Jakarta, which occurred on Friday (3/3). There were two RWs affected by the fire incident, namely RW 01 as many as 166 families (KK) and RW 09 as many as 65 families. In addition, he also informed that until now the number of victims who died in the incident at the Plumpang Depot was recorded at 23 people.

In the case of Dipo Plumpang, Bareskrim Polri has questioned 54 witnesses, both victim witnesses and experts. Several witnesses who were questioned included Pertamina, BMKG, the Directorate General of Oil and Gas and local residents.