Barge blast kills two, injures three others<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A barge berthing at Pangkalan Pasir, Cilincing, near Tanjung
\nPriok Port in North Jakarta, burst into flames at about 12:30
\na.m. on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring three others.<\/p>\n
The first fatality has been identified as Budiman, 38, a
\nresident of Semper village, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We have evacuated another dead body from the sea this
\nmorning. We haven't been able to identify him,\" Adj. Comr.
\nSarjiyo, top detective at Tanjung Priok Port Police said on
\nTuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, three other victims identified as Sukiman, 42,
\nSuhanda, 56, and Anta, were suffering from minor injuries.<\/p>\n
\"A spark from the pump used to clean out crude oil waste from
\nthe barge started the fire,\" Sarjiyo revealed.<\/p>\n
Another police report at Jakarta Police, however, stated a
\nslightly different report, saying that the barge exploded when it
\nwas pumping out -- not cleaning out -- oil residue. The residue
\nis in demand on the black market for small industries.<\/p>\n
The blast also damaged five locals' houses and a small mosque.
\nThe barge's parts hit the roofs of the buildings, making holes in
\nthe ceilings.<\/p>\n
Sarjiyo said the pump was owned by Roni Singgih, a businessman
\ncontracted to operate fuel pumps at the dock.<\/p>\n
\"We are still looking for him to be questioned as a witness,\"
\nhe said. \"It was likely to be a workplace accident.\"<\/p>\n
The blast made the locals living nearby the beach anxious.
\nThey said that Pangkalan Pasir, which was used as a repair dock,
\nalso ran an illegal fuel depot business.<\/p>\n
\"About 200 locals staged a protest in front of the police
\nstation this morning. They demanded us to close the illegal fuel
\ndepot allegedly ran by the relatives of Adjat Sudrajat, also a
\nresident,\" Sarjiyo said.<\/p>\n
He said that the police would check on the accusation.<\/p>\n
\"We don't know whether there is an illegal depot running
\nthere. We have questioned Adjat as a witness for the blast case,
\nnot for the residents' accusation on the illegal fuel depot.\"<\/p>\n
A source who requested anonymity revealed that the dock was
\nactually a meeting point for ships and barges loaded with
\ngasoline, diesel or fuel residue to be traded on the black
\nmarket.<\/p>\n
\"It's the place to sell illegal supplies of fuel or to buy
\nthem at low prices,\" said the source, who claimed that he was
\ninvolved in the Pangkalan Pasir illegal business.<\/p>\n
He said that fuel supplies from the barges was usually pumped
\ndirectly into another barge or into an oil truck, and container
\ntrucks were never used.<\/p>\n
He added that a barge could carry at least 300 tons of fuel in
\none single trip.<\/p>",
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