Two die, 55 wounded as fire engulfs chemical plant

Indra Harsaputra and ID Nugroho, The Jakarta Post, Gresik/Surabaya

At least two persons were killed and more than 50 others seriously injured after a raging fire gutted a petrochemical plant near the nation's second-biggest city of Surabaya on Tuesday, police said.

The dead man were identified as Abdul Tahir, 44, and Syamsi, 48.

They were among at least 56 victims, mostly with burns, who had to be hospitalized after the fire engulfed several chemical tanks at the PT Petro Widodo premises in the Gresik regency of East Java. Petro Widodo is a subsidiary of PT Petrokimia Gresik.

Other victims were being treated at Semen Gresik Hospital and Petrokimia Gresik Hospital.

Senja Setiaka, a paramedic at Dr. Soetomo Hospital who was treating at least 20 patients, said many were covered in burns.

At least six patients were seriously injured, with up 70 percent of their bodies burned. They were Subiyanto, 36, Muhtarom, 42, Abdul Hafiz, 25, Kusmiati, 35, Muhtarom, 45, Zaenal Arifin, 32, Sudaryo, 23, and Didik Triyono, 32.

"Their conditions are very serious," Senja said.

The Jakarta Post observed the 20 wounded were all unconscious. Their burns had not yet been dressed and their bodies were covered only with blankets.

Hospital deputy director Oerip Murtejo said his hospital would treat the patients with the greatest of care. All their medical costs would be covered by PT Petro Widodo, he said.

Surabaya Police chief Sr. Comr. Ade Raharja said the fire started at around 4:30 p.m. Police did not yet know what caused the apparent accident.

"We are continuing to search for more victims and the cause of the fire," Ade said.

Kasmolan Bashar, a witness who works about 10 meters from the Petro Widodo premises, said he heard two loud explosions before the fire from the vicinity of the chemical tanks.

At that time he saw many workers fleeing from the compound. Minutes later about a ton of iron flew some 500 meters from one of the exploded tanks, he said.

"The iron damaged the wall of my company. The window seven meters from where the iron hit was also shattered," Kasmolan added.

He believed some Petro Widodo workers had been trapped in the compound by the blaze. The firm employed about 300 workers at the time of the accident.

By Tuesday evening efforts by firefighters using water jets appeared to be ineffective and the fire was spreading further into the compound.

Dozens of fire trucks were at the scene and the main road outside the factory, which is lined by cement and chemical factories, had been sealed off.

Further away, a thick chemical smoke from the fire was seen blanketing parts of Gresik and Surabaya, which nearby residents said was hurting their eyes.

Journalists were banned from approaching the scene without wearing masks because they were told the smoke contained hazardous poisons.

However, those masked who approached the compound still complained of headaches and stomach aches.

"Despite containing chemical substances, it (the gas) will not harm local people. It is only dangerous if it's inhaled from a certain distance," Kasmolan, a spokesman for PT Petrokimia Gresik Priyanto, said.

He did not specify what that distance was.

Kasmolan said the fire was the second in the company after an accident in 1996 that killed one worker and seriously injured 10 others.

"But the fire of this time is more serious because it has engulfed almost 90 percent of the compound," he added.

Petrokimia is one of Indonesia's biggest petrochemical groups and is mostly government-owned.