19 die in explosion at firecracker plant
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)