Oil tanker train catches fire

A train carrying premium gasoline and kerosene caught fire in Cepu district, Blora regency, Central Java, on Friday evening after hitting an Isuzu Panther minivan at a railway crossing.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or people injured. A marketer with the local unit of state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina Heppy Wulansari said two or three tanks exploded before the fire. The accident took place at around 6:30 p.m. at the Ronggo Lawe railway crossing, some two kilometers from the Cepu railway station.

The ill-fated train had nine tanks -- five containing premium gasoline and four kerosene. Heppy said Cepu could suffer fuel shortages due to the accident. "All financial losses caused by the accident will be covered by PT KAI (state- owned train operator)," she added. --JP