Razed firm closes, hundreds jobless

Razed firm closes, hundreds jobless

ID Nugroho and Indra Harsaputra, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya

Hundreds of workers are taking indefinite vacations after fire
destroyed a petrochemical plant in Gresik, East Java, while
police continued to probe the cause of the accident.

Employees said on Tuesday that PT Petrowidada (not Petro
Widodo as reported here earlier), a subsidiary of PT Petrokimia
Gresik, would be closed indefinitely after Tuesday's fire that
killed two workers and injured over 50 others, mostly with burns.

Petrowidada executives at the scene refused to comment on the
accident as dozens of police officers stood guard at the plant
among the scattered wrecks of trucks, cars and motorcycles.

East Java Police said they had questioned at least 31
witnesses about the cause of the accident. A preliminary
investigation showed high temperatures at the production machine
caused the explosions and resulting fire, they said.

"We have questioned Agus, an employee under Nur Samsi (the
plant and production director and one of the two dead). He said
the explosions came from the refinery machine," Surabaya Police
chief Sr. Comr. Ade Rahardja said on Thursday.

An investigation was also being conducted by the East Java
provincial police.

"We will find who is to blame for the fire and its exact
cause," East Java Police detective chief Sr. Comr. Sutarman,
said, promising to complete the probe soon.

If there were found to be procedural errors or negligence on
the part of company management it could be charged with Article
359 and 360 of the Criminal Code, which carried a maximum penalty
of five years in prison, he said.

The police were also investigating if the fire had caused
environmental damage to the nearby river. They would also
monitor any adverse affects the fire had on the health of
neighboring residents, Sutarman added.

Zainal Arifin, the director-general of the Ministry of Trade
and Industry's chemicals department, said he believed the fire
was an indictment on the poor security and safety systems of
chemical companies across Indonesia.

Asked if he believed PT Petrowidada was to blame for the fire,
he said, "I can't rule on that. Let the police inquiry decide".

East Java police dispatched a team to carry out a forensic
investigation at the scene and to check there were no further
bodies. There have been no reports of missing persons since the
fire.

Meanwhile, residents from at least four neighboring villages
affected by the fire demanded that PT Petrowidada compensate them
over the incident.

Residents said the fire spread to several houses in the
villages of Maduran, Tlogo Pojok, Pepen and Romo, situated some
100 meters from the company, after burning particles flew from
exploding gas tanks.

Some particles also polluted wells in the area, they said.

Munir, a resident, saw his house on Jl. Raya Maduran destroyed
after fire spread to it from the Petrowidada factory following
the explosions.

The fire cost him about Rp 320 million (US$38,095), he said.
He was now forced to live in a rented home nearby.

"We demand that the (the company) compensate us for the
damages," Munir said.

Another resident, Rumiati, voiced similar complaints, saying
other houses were damaged by the explosions from the company. "I
have not yet calculated my losses," Rumiati said.

Lawyer Shoinuddin Umar from the local Legal Aid Institute
(LBH) said his office would help the victims force the company to
respond to their demands.

Other neighbors complained the nearby river was contaminated
after the fire engulfed the company. "Its water used to be
clearer and after the fire we see white foam there. Sometimes the
water looks like it is boiling," Luluk, a villager, said.

PT Petrokimia president Arifin Tasrif said his company had not
yet decided whether to pay compensation demands, pending a
meeting with other directors.

"We now are concentrating on the process of security and
evacuating victims," he argued.

Arifin said the major accident with PT Petrowidada would not
disrupt this year's fertilizer production of the holding company
located at the same compound.