Oil rig explosion injures seven

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: A fire occurred at an oil rig belonging to PT Expan in Tarakan on Monday, seriously injuring seven workers.

The seven are being treated at Tarakan General Hospital.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Herman Ismail, chief of the Tarakan Police, said the fire was accompanied by a major explosion that could be heard within a two-kilometer radius.

He said the explosion occurred when workers were drilling for oil at an abandoned well used during the Dutch colonial era.

According to a preliminary assessment, the explosion was caused by natural gas accompanied by fire erupting from the old well.

Ismail said that despite being far from residential areas, the fire location remained dangerous because it was still spewing flames that could eventually reach houses in the subdistrict.

The fire location, located 1,000 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Samarinda, is adjacent to a military barracks and a sawmill. -- Antara