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.