Fire at Pertamina Plumpang Depot, Jokowi seeks a solution: ‘Move it to a reclaimed area or relocate’
During a visit to the site of the Pertamina Plumpang Depot fire in Koja, North Jakarta, on Sunday (03/05), President Joko Widodo asked the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises and the Governor of DKI Jakarta to “immediately find a solution” to the incident in Plumpang.
To the media, Jokowi emphasized that this location is a “danger zone, can no longer be inhabited”.
“But there must be a solution. Plumpang could be moved to a reclaimed area or its residents could be relocated,” he said.
He added that this decision must be made by Pertamina and the residents.
In 2009, the Jakarta government also proposed the creation of a 50-meter buffer zone, but it has not been implemented until now.
“This Tanah Merah area is crowded and full. We have to find a solution for everything. I think the safety and well-being of the community must be the top priority,” Jokowi said.
Meanwhile, the police suspect that the cause of the Pertamina Plumpang Depot fire in Koja, North Jakarta, on Friday (03/03) was related to technical disruption during refueling on Friday night.
“Technical disruption during refueling caused excess pressure that led to the Pertamina depot catching fire,” said Police Chief General Polisi Listyo Sigit Prabowo, on Saturday (03/04).
On Sunday (03/05) morning, heavy equipment will be deployed to the residential area to assist in the search for residents who are still missing, possibly buried under debris and rubble, according to the police.
“Buildings made of aerated concrete collapsed. We suspect there are victims inside,” said North Jakarta Metro Police Chief, Kombes Pol Gidion Arif Setyawan, as reported by Antara. Authorities said that 18 people are still being searched for.
The Jakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reported that 1,085 people have been displaced in several locations due to the fire.
The fire incident has claimed the lives of at least 17 people and left dozens with burn injuries. This number was based on data released by the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) on early Saturday, and was reiterated by Vice President Ma’ruf Amin during his visit to the location.
“All the victims have died, around 17 people, and then there are 60 injured who are being treated, and there are some who are being sheltered,” he said.
One victim died on Saturday afternoon after being taken to the Pertamina Central Hospital (RSPP) in Jakarta.
RSPP Director, Theryoto, said the victim was a female. The victim died due to severe burns.
“There was a female patient who, just two hours ago, due to extensive burns that were almost 100%, couldn’t be saved,” Theryoto told reporters at RSPP, South Jakarta, on Saturday.
Of the deceased victims, two of them were children. The bodies were taken to Tugu Hospital, RSCM, and Polri Kramat Jati Hospital.
Meanwhile, the injured victims are being treated in several hospitals, such as Koja General Hospital, Tugu Koja Hospital, Pelabuhan Hospital, and Muliasari Hospital. Serious burn victims are referred to RSCM, RSPP, and Polri Kramat Jati Hospital.
The fire broke out after a fuel pipe in the depot area exploded. A total of 52 fire pump trucks and 260 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the fire in the depot and residential areas that were also affected by the fire.
The fire was successfully extinguished on Saturday morning. At present, the authorities are focused on treating the injured victims and identifying the bodies of the deceased.
The Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team of the Indonesian National Police said that they have received 15 body bags. The condition of the victims is so severe that out of those 15, only two fingerprints were successfully obtained. The two victims are Fahrul Hidayatullah, 28, and Muhammad Bukhori, 41.
Therefore, the police are asking relatives of the fire victims to come to the RS Polri to provide ante mortem data.
“The DVI team has set up a post to speed up the identification process,” said police spokesman Irjen Dedi Prasetyo.
The Jakarta Provincial Government ensured that it will bear all the medical expenses of the victims of the BBM pipeline fire in the Pertamina Plumpang Depot in Koja, North Jakarta.
“Of course, if all the costs (medical treatment and care) are borne by us, the government will bear them,” said Acting Governor of Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono after visiting the victims at Koja General Hospital, North Jakarta, following the incident on Friday.
At the same time, the Head of the Jakarta Provincial Health Agency, Widyastuti, explained that they, together with the central government, have prepared several regional public hospitals to handle the fire victims.
Mulyasari Hospital was the first place to provide first aid to the victims of the BBM pipeline fire at the Pertamina Plumpang Depot in North Jakarta on Friday night. The location of the hospital is the closest to the scene of the incident.
The refugees are scattered in four places, namely the North Jakarta PMI Office, Rasella RPTRA, the building and mosque of the North Jakarta Golkar DPP, and Gema Insan Mandiri Islamic Elementary School.
The fire broke out at 8:11 PM after a fuel pipe at the depot area exploded. As many as 52 pump trucks and 260 firefighters were deployed to extinguish the flames in the depot area and the residential area that was also affected by the fire.
PT Pertamina (Persero) has issued an apology for the Plumpang Pertamina Depot fire incident in North Jakarta.
“Pertamina will provide the best possible assistance for affected communities,” said Pertamina President Director, Nicke Widyawati, in a press release on Saturday (03/04) in Jakarta.
Pertamina revealed that a joint team consisting of PT Pertamina Patra Niaga, relevant agencies, and law enforcement officers will investigate the cause of the fire at the Plumpang Depot.
“We will conduct a comprehensive evaluation and reflection internally to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” added Nicke.
Regarding fuel supply, Nicke assured that it will remain safe. Pertamina will utilize fuel supplies from several Pertamina fuel terminals on the island of Java.
Operating since 1974, the Plumpang Depot is one of Pertamina’s strategic assets that supplies around 20% of daily fuel needs.
A fire incident also occurred at the Plumpang Depot in 2009.
Since then, various parties have warned of the danger of placing fuel depots near residential areas.
“We have warned several times that it is very, very dangerous in Plumpang,” said Sugeng Suparwoto, a member of the DPR Commission VII, in an interview with Kompas TV.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister, Erick Thohir, said that there will be a review of the governance of vital object building areas, not only for Pertamina but for all state-owned enterprises.
“We want to rezone, rearrange, not only at Pertamina but also at PLN, fertilizers, so that there are security limits for people to live,” said Erick when visiting the location on Saturday afternoon.
Incidents of fire in Pertamina facilities are frequent.
At least seven fires have occurred in the Pertamina refinery area in Cilacap, Central Java, since 1995.
Then in March 2021, a fuel storage tank owned by PT Pertamina in Balongan Village, Balongan District, Indramayu Regency, West Java, caught fire and caused several people to be injured.
