Jakarta, IO – The blaze took place at Pertamina Plumpang Depot in Koja, North Jakarta, Friday (3/3).
As of 2am WIB, 13 people have reportedly been killed, while casualty report varied due to chaotic situation at the scene.
“The number of victims killed was 13 people and 49 people were reportedly injured. The dead victims consisted of 10 adults and three children,” said member of the North Jakarta Fire Service Idrisman.
The injured are being treated at a number of hospitals, namely Pelabuhan Hospital, Tugu Koja Hospital, Mulyasari Hospital, Koja Hospital and Firdaus Hospital.
Idrisman said the number of casualties might increase as the search efforts are still ongoing. He revealed that the fire might have started from a fuel pipe. The fire the sparked an explosion that spread to the nearby communities, a densely populated area. Dozens of houses in RW 01 and RW 09 neighborhood unit, Rawa Badak Selatan Urban Village were burned down.
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By 2am WIB, the blaze was controlled after 52 fire engines and 250 firefighters were dispatched. At the moment, officers are still focused on finding victims. (un)