19 die in explosion at firecracker plant
BREBES, Central Java (JP): Rescue workers searched through the charred debris of a firecracker factory in Losari subdistrict yesterday evening in hopes of recovering the bodies of the 11 workers still missing since an explosion leveled their workplace on Monday.
Workers have already recovered 19 bodies, many of which were burned beyond recognition, or in pieces.
Witnesses said that bits of human bodies were found in paddy fields near the factory.
"I found two legs the field," chief of the Brebes police precinct Lt. Col. Soekardji told The Jakarta Post.
The huge explosion, which could be heard from a distance of more than 10 kilometers, injured 49 other workers, several of whom remain in a critical condition.
Central Java police chief Maj. Gen. Harimas A.S. said yesterday that the explosion, which leveled all of the factory buildings occupying a 1.5 hectare plot of land, was the second most devastating ever recorded. The explosion of the Cilandak arsenal in the 1970s was the worst.
Police said the calamity occurred when the raw materials for the explosives became overheated and burst into flames.
The unstoppable conflagration spread through storehouses so quickly that many workers of the workers were unable to save themselves, Soekardji said.
Monday's explosion destroyed the factory belonging to Eddy Soekamto, alias Hock Seng. He was reportedly in China to buy explosives when the disaster occurred.
The fireworks company, PT Hidup Sentausa Industry, employs 115 workers, mostly women, who earn a daily wage of Rp 3,000 (US$1.3).
Police records indicate that a smaller explosion happened in the same factory in 1991 and that Hock Seng was imprisoned for 18 months after his firecracker factory in Surabaya exploded in 1983, causing several fatalities.
"This businessman is real tough. He is persistent despite the accidents," Soekardji said.
Brebes regent Syamsudin said the government will provide compensation of Rp 200,000 for the families of each of the deceased. He also promised to cover the medical expenses of those injured. (wah/pan)