A fire broke out on Friday at a fuel station operated by state energy company Pertamina (PERTM.UL) in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, killing at least 16 people and injuring 50. According to the information, the fire started around 1 pm local time. During this many houses were burnt.
Two children out of 16 dead
According to Rahmat Cristanto, a fire brigade official, two of the 16 dead were children, while 50 people, including a child, were injured. Jakarta’s acting governor Heru Budi Hartono told the media that most of the injured were suffering from burns and the government would pay for their treatment.
People taken to mosques
According to the Reuters report, there was a crowd of people near the fuel station. Jakarta’s disaster-mitigation agency said residents were taken to nearby mosques. Siswandi, a 21-year-old resident, said the scene was “chaotic, as we were running with injured victims who were half-burnt and it caused panic among people.”
“It was a terrible fire”
The call center of Jakarta’s main fire station said the blaze was severe and dispatched 51 units to the Plumpang area of North Jakarta. Pertamina said in a statement that the cause of the incident is being investigated and efforts are on to evacuate people.
Fuel station CEO apologized
Pertamina chief executive officer Nike Vidyavati apologized for the fire and said it would “reflect internally to avoid such incidents from happening again.”