Dozen boats burned in Tegal fire

PURWOKERTO, Central Java (JP): As many as 12 boats docked at Tegal Port went up in smoke early on Sunday morning in a fire believed to have be caused by an exploding furnace.

No casualties were reported in the fire but losses from the destruction of the 12 ships, which, on average, weighed some 20 gross tons, were believed to have been worth around Rp 700 million to Rp 800 million each.

Tegal Port administrator Sutomo said the fire was believed to have been caused by a faulty furnace valve on the KM Indama, which then quickly spread to other adjacent ships docked at the same pier.

"We really tried our best to put out the fire, but it was too formidable. There was nothing we could do to stop it from spreading," he explained.

Most of the boats were fishing vessels, two were log carriers.

The fire was extinguished after an exhaustive effort from fire engines from Brebes regency and the assistance of hundreds of fishermen.

If the fire had spread any further, dozens of other fishing boats would also have perished.

Tegal Police chief Adj. Snr. Comm. Sriyono later confirmed that the fire was caused by a faulty furnace valve on one of the ships.

The secretary of the Tegal branch of the Indonesian Fishermen Association, Taufik, said he regretted the incident saying that as a result 400 sailors and fishermen would be out of work.

Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affair Rochmin Dahuri, who was attending a separate event not far from Tegal, similarly expressed his anguish over the incident. (45)