Industry Ministry deploys oversight team in response to Semarang herbal factory explosion
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Industry (Kemenperin) has deployed a Monitoring and Control (Wasdal) Team as a rapid response to the explosion and fire incident at the PT Raw Botanical Nusantara factory, a herbal processing company located in the Candi Industrial Estate, Semarang, Central Java.
In an official statement confirmed in Jakarta on Friday, the Minister of Industry, Agus Gembwang Kartasasmita, stated that this step was taken to conduct field verification, gather comprehensive information, and support the investigation into the cause of the accident.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday (1/7) at approximately 09:30 WIB, was immediately followed up by the ministry through coordination with the company and relevant authorities, he said.
Agus also expressed deep concern over the tragedy, particularly regarding the loss of life and injuries. He emphasised that occupational safety must be the top priority in all industrial operations.
“We express our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and pray for the recovery of the injured workers. This incident serves as a loud alarm for the industrial sector to continue tightening the implementation of Occupational Health and Safety (K3) standards, especially regarding the use of high-risk or high-pressure industrial machinery,” he said.
As a follow-up, Agus instructed the Acting Director General of Agro-Industry, Putu Juli Ardika, to immediately deploy the Monitoring and Control Team to the site.
The team is tasked with conducting field verification, gathering comprehensive information, and coordinating with law enforcement, local government, and the company during the investigation process.
According to initial chronological reports, indications of overheating in high-pressure production machinery were observed around 09:30 WIB. This was followed by the explosion of a sterilisation tank in the rear production area between 09:45 WIB and 09:56 WIB.
The explosion triggered a fire and caused parts of the building structure to collapse before firefighters managed to extinguish the flames around 12:00 WIB.
The event resulted in the death of one worker, Muhammad Bryan Febryantoro, a resident of Mranggen, Demak. Additionally, seven other workers sustained mild to moderate burns.
All victims were evacuated and received medical treatment at RSUD dr. Adhyatma, MPH.
Furthermore, the Acting Director General of Agro-Industry, Putu Juli Ardika, stated that the preliminary suspicion for the explosion is a functional failure of the sterilisation tank due to a surge in temperature and pressure that exceeded the equipment’s design limits.
Currently, all production activities at the factory have been temporarily suspended to support the investigation process.
“The company, alongside the Forensic Identification Team (Inafis) of the Semarang City Police, is currently conducting a crime scene investigation and further analysis to determine the exact cause of the accident, including checking for any elements of negligence. We at the Directorate General of Agro-Industry have also coordinated with the Head of the Large Center for Industrial Pollution Prevention Standardisation and Service (BBSPJPPI) in Semarang to closely monitor the handling of this incident,” said Putu.
The Ministry of Industry emphasised that it will continue to monitor the progress of the investigation intensively alongside relevant agencies.
Additionally, all manufacturing industry players in Indonesia are urged to conduct regular checks and calibrations of machinery and production facilities to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.