Residents' Testimonies on Impact of Steel Factory Explosion in Sidoarjo

Several residents’ homes in Janti Village, Waru District, Sidoarjo Regency, suffered damage from an explosion originating from a steel processing factory on Monday (6/4) afternoon. Reports indicated hot iron materials, vibrations, and a sound like a bomb, causing panic among locals.

Based on observations by CNNIndonesia.com at the scene, damage was identified in Wedoro Regency Housing RT 04 RW 01, where at least three houses were affected. Additional damage was reported in the Pelikan RW 08 area.

One affected resident in Wedoro Regency, Muhammad Nur Holis (61), said the explosion around 2:00 PM WIB initially sparked panic due to its bomb-like boom.

Upon arriving home, Nur Holis found a hot iron sheet that had fallen onto his roof, penetrating the ceiling. The house was empty at the time as family members were out.

“There was a lot of debris. Four roof tiles were completely broken, with marks. Iron and a lot of ceiling rubble. I fixed the tiles myself temporarily by placing them on top; if it rains, it might leak and damage other things,” said Nur Holis when met at his home.

The iron sheet suspected of hitting Nur Holis’s roof, causing it to break, measured about 15 cm x 8 cm, with an estimated thickness of 3 cm and weight of around 2 kilograms.

“I don’t know what that object is, but it’s very heavy,” said Nur Holis.

Meanwhile, another affected resident, Icha, recounted the moments before the explosion. She noted a blue flash of light appeared before two loud booms.

“Before the explosion, there was a flash of light. I saw it as blue, the security guard saw it as yellow. Then the bomb-like sounds (explosions) twice. After that, things fell. Locked doors and windows opened by themselves,” said Icha.

Icha, who was working at the time, was deeply shaken by the event. The vibrations were so strong that kitchen utensils and freshly prepared food fell to the floor.

“I ran outside because I was afraid something might happen. The explosion was unnatural, not like an electrical transformer, but like fireworks or a bomb. I’ve experienced the Kuningan bombing in Jakarta; the sound and impact were the same,” she said.

As of this report, residents are still awaiting accountability from the company regarding their home damages and are concerned about potential follow-up explosions. They hope for prompt repairs.

Two houses damaged in Surabaya

The deadly explosion at PT Great Wall Steel (GWS) steel processing factory in Waru District, Sidoarjo, reportedly extended to Surabaya City. Two houses in the Kutisari Indah Barat area suffered material damage from the incident.

The Surabaya Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) confirmed receiving damage reports at 3:50 PM WIB. The explosion’s effects are believed to have caused vibrations that damaged residents’ home structures.

“Damaged building on Kutisari Indah Barat Street, Tenggilis Mejoyo District. First house owned by TNM (45), second by S (59),” said the Head of Emergency and Logistics Division (Darlog) of Surabaya BPBD, Linda Novanti, on Monday (6/4).

Based on field assessments, the two houses experienced different types of damage. The first house had a light fixture mount detached from the ceiling. The owner stated no repair assistance was needed.

The second house suffered more serious damage on the second floor. A bedroom window glass was reported broken due to the shock.

“For the second house, damage occurred to the bedroom window glass on the second floor. The owner hopes for assistance in replacing the material loss of the window glass,” said Linda.

Meanwhile, the management of PT Great Wall Steel (GWS) finally spoke out regarding the explosion incident at the steel smelting factory area in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Monday (6/4) afternoon. At least one person died and two suffered minor injuries from the event.

HRD & General Affair of PT GWS, Heri Prasetyo, confirmed the explosion began when workers were cutting scrap metal from a supplier in the open area or scrap yard.

The scrap metal needed to be cut because its dimensions were too large for the smelting machine. However, unexpectedly, the material being cut exploded.

“When it was being cut, without their knowledge or suspicion, what they were cutting exploded,” said Heri during clarification in Sidoarjo on Monday night.