<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Indonesian rescuers and firefighters on Sunday searched for three people who were still missing under the rubble of charred houses and buildings, after a large fire spread from a fuel storage depot in the capital and killed at least 19 people.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Plumpang fuel storage station, operated by state-run oil and gas company Pertamina, is near a densely populated area in the Tanah Merah neighborhood in North Jakarta. It supplies 25% of Indonesia’s fuel needs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At least 260 firefighters and 52 fire engines extinguished the blaze just before midnight on Friday after it tore through the neighborhood for more than two hours, fire officials said.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Footage showed hundreds of people running in panic as thick plumes of black smoke and orange flames filled the sky.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">National police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo said a preliminary investigation showed the fire was caused by a technical problem involving excess pressure as the depot received fuel from Pertamina’s Balongan Refinery in West Java province.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“It was found that a fire occurred during a filling of Pertamax fuel,” Listyo told a news conference late Saturday, referring to a type of fuel oil produced by Pertamina.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He didn’t elaborate as investigators from Pertamina and the police were still working to establish the cause of the fire, including by questioning dozens of witnesses and examining video recordings from surveillance cameras.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Residents living near the depot said they smelled a strong odor of gasoline, causing some people to vomit, after which thunder rumbled twice, followed by a huge explosion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sri Haryati, a mother of three, said the fire began to spread about 20 minutes later, causing panic.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“I was crying and immediately grabbed our valuable documents and ran with my husband and children,” Haryati said, adding that she heard smaller blasts that echoed across the neighborhood as orange flames jumped from the depot.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rescuers were still searching for three people who were reported missing. About 35 people were receiving treatment in five hospitals, some of them in critical condition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Listyo said more than 1,300 people were displaced and taking shelter in 10 government offices, a Red Cross command post and a sport stadium.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pertamina's head Nicke Widyawati apologized and said the company would provide help to the community and cooperate in the investigation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“We will carry out a thorough evaluation and reflection internally to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” Widyawati said in a statement, adding that the company ensured the safe supply of fuel oil.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Saturday, grieving relatives gathered at a police hospital’s morgue in eastern Jakarta to try to identify their loved ones. Officials said the victims were burned beyond recognition and could only be identified through DNA and dental records.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2014, a fire at the same fuel depot engulfed at least 40 houses, but no casualties were reported.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Indonesia’s State Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir told reporters that the government will remap safe zones for residential areas away from vital objects.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">He said the incident showed the Plumpang area is not safe for the community, and the government is planning to move the fuel storage depot to Tanjung Priok port in northern Jakarta. AP/UNB</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>