Smelter blast injures 13, damages 63 home<\/p>\n
Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo, East Java<\/p>\n
At least 13 people were injured, two of them seriously, when a
\nstrong explosion rocked a metal smelter in Sidoarjo industrial
\narea, East Java, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The explosion took place at about 5:45 a.m. and sparked a fire
\nthat swept through metal smelter PT Ispatindo in Sidoarjo
\nDistrict.<\/p>\n
All the injured victims are rushed to the Siti Khotijah Taman
\nSepanjang Hospital and all medical fees were covered by the
\ncompany.<\/p>\n
Lubena, a staff member at the hospital, said that all the
\ninjured victims who were treated were employees of the factory.<\/p>\n
Sidoarjo Police Precinct chief Sr. Comr. Ronny Sompy said that
\nthe strong explosion was allegedly sparked by the collapse of the
\nfactory's main furnace.<\/p>\n
\"We still don't know exactly the cause of the furnace's
\ncollapse; the investigation is still underway,\" he said, adding
\nthe police are still questioning 10 employees who were on duty at
\nthe time of the blast.<\/p>\n
Locals living near the factory, blamed the local
\nadministration and the factory's poor management for the
\nexplosion for not taking steps to prevent such incidents from
\nhappening.<\/p>\n
They said that residents had complained about noise and
\nenvironmental pollution caused by the factory both to the
\nmanagement and the local administration but their complaints were
\nnot heeded.<\/p>\n
\"It is the second incident after a minor explosion happened
\nmonths ago. Besides the explosion, the factory has also polluted
\nwells and the air and makes an intolerable level of noise almost
\nevery day. This means that the management has ignored local
\nresidents' complaints and the local administration did not
\nmonitor the factory's operation,\" said Abdul Rohkim, chief of a
\nneighborhood in Kedung Sari village located near the factory.<\/p>\n
He cited that the management had paid only Rp 25,000 per
\nfamily in compensation for the environmental pollution.<\/p>\n
Rohkim said that residents have demanded that the factory
\nrepair the houses damaged in the explosion and that they planned
\nto file a lawsuit against the factory over the explosion and the
\nenvironmental pollution.<\/p>\n
He added that the explosion damaged 63 houses and two cars
\nbelonging to residents.<\/p>\n
The incident occurred only two months after the explosion that
\nrocked chemical factory PT Petrowidada, in Gresik industrial zone
\nin the middle of January. The fire that caused a strong explosion
\nis the largest recorded to have hit a chemical factory in
\nIndonesia. Three employees were killed and fifty-eight survivors
\nof the fire received treatment in hospitals, many with severe
\nchemical burns.<\/p>\n
PT Petrowidada, which produces the raw plastic materials
\nphthalic anhydride (PA) and maleic anhydride (MA), is a
\nsubsidiary of petrochemical company PT Petrokimia, one of
\nIndonesia's biggest petrochemical groups.<\/p>\n
PT Ispatindo's personnel manager Dedy Kurniawan expressed
\nregret over the incident, saying that the company was still
\ncalculating the material losses.<\/p>\n
\"We have decided to give compensation to the locals affected
\nby the explosion and to cover the medication costs of the injured
\nvictims,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said further that the management has also decided to
\nsuspend operations for three weeks until all damaged facilities
\nwere repaired.<\/p>\n
The factory produces 80 tons of steel per month.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/smelter-blast-injures-13-damages-63-home-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }