Oil refinery in Balikpapan on fire again, 5 people become victims, 1 in search

BALIKPAPANKOMPAS.com – Another fire incident occurred at Pertamina’s oil refinery BalikpapanEast Kalimantan, on Sunday (15/5/2022) around 10.40 WITA.

In this incident five workers became victims and were rushed to the nearest hospital.

The explosion was heard by residents around the oil refinery area. The loud sound was even heard to residents who were about 2 kilometers from the scene.

“Yes, there was the sound of an explosion earlier,” said Wati, a resident of Karang Jati, Central Balikpapan.

Read also: Pertamina Balikpapan Oil Refinery Burns, Here Are the Facts

After the sound of the explosion, thick smoke emerged from the refinery area.

The incident went viral on social media with photos and videos circulating. However, until now, there has been no official statement from Pertamina regarding this incident.

However, the Head of Public Relations of the East Kalimantan Police, Kombes Yusuf Sutejo, confirmed that there was a fire at the oil refinery.

Police have been dispatched to investigate this explosion.

“Investigations are still being carried out, it is still too early to determine the start of the hotspots,” he told Kompas.comSunday afternoon.

Read also: Oil Refinery in Balikpapan Burns, Observers Call Pertamina’s Security System Weak

In the incident, Yusuf said there were five victims.

The five victims were rushed to different hospitals for medical treatment.

“Meanwhile there are five victims. In RSPB (Pertamina Hospital Balikpapan) there are two people, the Panorama Clinic there are three people and there is one person who is still being searched. There has been no report of MD (died),” he said.

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