Indonesia has ordered an investigation into a deadly fire at an oil storage depot in Jakarta owned by state petroleum company PT Pertamina.

The fire on Friday evening killed 17 people and caused the evacuation of hundreds of local residents Kompas reported, citing a police official. State-Owned Enterprise Minister Erick Thohir instructed Pertamina to investigate the cause of the blaze at the depot, which mainly distributes fuel to Indonesia’s capital and West Java area.

The fire broke out at Plumpang Integrated Terminal in north Jakarta at 8:20 p.m. local time Friday and was put out around 10 p.m., according to Irto Ginting, corporate secretary of commercial unit Pertamina Patra Niaga, in a statement. Two children were among the fatalities.

Pertamina said it will be able to maintain sufficient fuel supply with back-up support from other facilities in the area.

In 2009, the depot was hit by a major fire that officials attributed to human error.

comment COMMENT NOW