Razed firm closes, hundreds jobless<\/p>\n
ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya<\/p>\n
Hundreds of workers are taking indefinite vacations after fire
\ndestroyed a petrochemical plant in Gresik, East Java, while
\npolice continued to probe the cause of the accident.<\/p>\n
Employees said on Tuesday that PT Petrowidada (not Petro
\nWidodo as reported here earlier), a subsidiary of PT Petrokimia
\nGresik, would be closed indefinitely after Tuesday's fire that
\nkilled two workers and injured over 50 others, mostly with burns.<\/p>\n
Petrowidada executives at the scene refused to comment on the
\naccident as dozens of police officers stood guard at the plant
\namong the scattered wrecks of trucks, cars and motorcycles.<\/p>\n
East Java Police said they had questioned at least 31
\nwitnesses about the cause of the accident. A preliminary
\ninvestigation showed high temperatures at the production machine
\ncaused the explosions and resulting fire, they said.<\/p>\n
"We have questioned Agus, an employee under Nur Samsi (the
\nplant and production director and one of the two dead). He said
\nthe explosions came from the refinery machine," Surabaya Police
\nchief Sr. Comr. Ade Rahardja said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
An investigation was also being conducted by the East Java
\nprovincial police.<\/p>\n
"We will find who is to blame for the fire and its exact
\ncause," East Java Police detective chief Sr. Comr. Sutarman,
\nsaid, promising to complete the probe soon.<\/p>\n
If there were found to be procedural errors or negligence on
\nthe part of company management it could be charged with Article
\n359 and 360 of the Criminal Code, which carried a maximum penalty
\nof five years in prison, he said.<\/p>\n
The police were also investigating if the fire had caused
\nenvironmental damage to the nearby river. They would also
\nmonitor any adverse affects the fire had on the health of
\nneighboring residents, Sutarman added.<\/p>\n
Zainal Arifin, the director-general of the Ministry of Trade
\nand Industry's chemicals department, said he believed the fire
\nwas an indictment on the poor security and safety systems of
\nchemical companies across Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Asked if he believed PT Petrowidada was to blame for the fire,
\nhe said, "I can't rule on that. Let the police inquiry decide".<\/p>\n
East Java police dispatched a team to carry out a forensic
\ninvestigation at the scene and to check there were no further
\nbodies. There have been no reports of missing persons since the
\nfire.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, residents from at least four neighboring villages
\naffected by the fire demanded that PT Petrowidada compensate them
\nover the incident.<\/p>\n
Residents said the fire spread to several houses in the
\nvillages of Maduran, Tlogo Pojok, Pepen and Romo, situated some
\n100 meters from the company, after burning particles flew from
\nexploding gas tanks.<\/p>\n
Some particles also polluted wells in the area, they said.<\/p>\n
Munir, a resident, saw his house on Jl. Raya Maduran destroyed
\nafter fire spread to it from the Petrowidada factory following
\nthe explosions.<\/p>\n
The fire cost him about Rp 320 million (US$38,095), he said.
\nHe was now forced to live in a rented home nearby.<\/p>\n
"We demand that the (the company) compensate us for the
\ndamages," Munir said.<\/p>\n
Another resident, Rumiati, voiced similar complaints, saying
\nother houses were damaged by the explosions from the company. "I
\nhave not yet calculated my losses," Rumiati said.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Shoinuddin Umar from the local Legal Aid Institute
\n(LBH) said his office would help the victims force the company to
\nrespond to their demands.<\/p>\n
Other neighbors complained the nearby river was contaminated
\nafter the fire engulfed the company. "Its water used to be
\nclearer and after the fire we see white foam there. Sometimes the
\nwater looks like it is boiling," Luluk, a villager, said.<\/p>\n
PT Petrokimia president Arifin Tasrif said his company had not
\nyet decided whether to pay compensation demands, pending a
\nmeeting with other directors.<\/p>\n
"We now are concentrating on the process of security and
\nevacuating victims," he argued.<\/p>\n
Arifin said the major accident with PT Petrowidada would not
\ndisrupt this year's fertilizer production of the holding company
\nlocated at the same compound.<\/p>",
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