A massive oil refinery fire in Indonesia that started after midnight has forced officials to evacuate hundreds of nearby residents and state-owned oil company Pertamina said Monday it has already shut down the Balongan oil refinery in West Java as firefighters continue to put out the flames.
The fire, which raged into Monday morning, had reportedly injured at least five people. No casualties have yet been reported.
Pertamina said that more than 950 residents that live near the refinery have been evacuated. Videos on social media showed how the flames have already eaten away parts of the facility, which produces more than 125,000 barrels per day of refined oil products.
Several explosions were reportedly heard by residents throughout the night.
Pertamina said that it has not yet identified the exact cause of the fire. The company speculated that it might have been caused by bad weather. Pertamina said that it has already controlled the flow of oil to the facility to prevent the blaze from spreading further.
"The cause of the fire is unknown, but during the incident, there was heavy rain and lightning," Pertamina said.
Pertamina spokesman Ifki Sukarya said that at least five people have been sent to the hospital for burns. Sukarya said that all of their staff members were unharmed and the people that were injured were those that passed by the facility when the fire broke out.
West Java police officials said that they will conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire once it is put out. Police spokesman Erdi Chaniago said that they are currently taking statements from witnesses. One resident reportedly said that she saw lightning strikes and smelled oil fumes before the fire broke out.
"We are securing the location at the moment, since the fire is still going. We can't examine the scene yet, cooling down needed to be conducted first by Pertamina," police officials said.
Pertamina's Balongan oil refinery is one of the largest in the region. It processes crude oil taken from the Duri and Minas fields in Riau province. The facility supplies fuel and other refined oil products to Jakarta and the western regions of Java island.
