Oil rig explosion injures seven

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