Barge blast kills two, injures three others

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A barge berthing at Pangkalan Pasir, Cilincing, near Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta, burst into flames at about 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring three others.

The first fatality has been identified as Budiman, 38, a resident of Semper village, North Jakarta.

"We have evacuated another dead body from the sea this morning. We haven't been able to identify him," Adj. Comr. Sarjiyo, top detective at Tanjung Priok Port Police said on Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, three other victims identified as Sukiman, 42, Suhanda, 56, and Anta, were suffering from minor injuries.

"A spark from the pump used to clean out crude oil waste from the barge started the fire," Sarjiyo revealed.

Another police report at Jakarta Police, however, stated a slightly different report, saying that the barge exploded when it was pumping out -- not cleaning out -- oil residue. The residue is in demand on the black market for small industries.

The blast also damaged five locals' houses and a small mosque. The barge's parts hit the roofs of the buildings, making holes in the ceilings.

Sarjiyo said the pump was owned by Roni Singgih, a businessman contracted to operate fuel pumps at the dock.

"We are still looking for him to be questioned as a witness," he said. "It was likely to be a workplace accident."

The blast made the locals living nearby the beach anxious. They said that Pangkalan Pasir, which was used as a repair dock, also ran an illegal fuel depot business.

"About 200 locals staged a protest in front of the police station this morning. They demanded us to close the illegal fuel depot allegedly ran by the relatives of Adjat Sudrajat, also a resident," Sarjiyo said.

He said that the police would check on the accusation.

"We don't know whether there is an illegal depot running there. We have questioned Adjat as a witness for the blast case, not for the residents' accusation on the illegal fuel depot."

A source who requested anonymity revealed that the dock was actually a meeting point for ships and barges loaded with gasoline, diesel or fuel residue to be traded on the black market.

"It's the place to sell illegal supplies of fuel or to buy them at low prices," said the source, who claimed that he was involved in the Pangkalan Pasir illegal business.

He said that fuel supplies from the barges was usually pumped directly into another barge or into an oil truck, and container trucks were never used.

He added that a barge could carry at least 300 tons of fuel in one single trip.