PGN Denies Gas Leak Caused Grand Polonia Medan Explosion

PT PGN (Persero) Tbk has denied police suspicions regarding the cause of an explosion at the Grand Polonia housing complex in Medan. The denial is based on the fact that no methane or natural gas content was found in one of the houses believed to be the source of the blast. “The gas detection results carried out by our team showed 0 parts per million (ppm) across the entire incident area,” said PGN Medan Area Head Agus Kurniawan on Tuesday (21/7). He explained that the measurements were taken on the night of the incident and witnessed directly by authorised external parties. The inspection was conducted on both the first and second floors of the house suspected to be the location of the explosion. “Based on the gas detection results carried out by the PGN team and witnessed by authorised external parties that night at the incident location, including on the first and second floors of the house in question, the reading showed 0 ppm, meaning no methane gas content was detected,” he stated. Despite the detection results showing zero gas content, Agus stressed that the definitive cause of the incident still awaits the official investigation results from the authorities. PGN stated it could not yet conclude the source of the explosion before the investigation process is complete. As an emergency response measure, PGN said the current top priority is securing the incident location. The company deployed a technical team to shut off the gas supply and conduct a thorough inspection of the gas pipeline network to ensure the safety of the community around the incident area. PGN also expressed deep concern for the victims affected by the incident. Agus confirmed that the company continues to coordinate intensively with the police and local authorities to monitor the handling on the ground. Previously, Medan Police Chief Commissioner Jean Calvijn Simanjuntak said that the initial investigation into the cause of the explosion at the Grand Polonia housing complex pointed to a leak from an underground gas pipe. Police had conducted an inspection at the location using gas detection equipment. “At 15:30 WIB an explosion occurred at the Grand Polonia Housing Complex. From the initial investigation, which is still ongoing, it was caused by a leak from a buried gas pipe or underground gas pipe,” he stated on Monday (20/7) evening. According to him, the gas detection equipment indicated a leak. However, the police have not yet concluded the exact cause of the explosion. “We entered using gas detection equipment and gas was indeed detected. But this is still a suspicion from the initial investigation,” he said.