The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry said in a press statement on Tuesday, Minister Darwin Zahedy Saleh, along with Pertamina President Director Karen Agustiawan, was still in Cilacap by Tuesday to coordinate an integrated team to extinguish the fire.
"We will still continue various preventive efforts and thorough investigation into the cause of the fire," Darwin said.
The minister was still in the refinery compound when the fire at the last tank was put out at 10.35 a.m.
"Thank God (the fire could be put out). We highly appreciate the ranks and files of Pertamina and the integrated team for their dedication and hard work. Our appreciation also goes to the Indonesian military and police as well as to the media which continue to serve as a means of communication between the government and the public," he said.
Pertamina said it extinguished the fire that had been raging at three tanks in its refinery compound for 78 hours since last Saturday.
"The fire at tank 31 T-7 was put out on Tuesday at 10.35 a.m.," Pertamina spokesman M Harun said in a press statement.
The fire at tanks 31 T-2 and 31 T-3 was put out on Sunday.
The fire started at tank 31 T-2 last Saturday at 04.55 a.m. and later spread to tanks 31 T-3 and 31 T-7. Tank 31 T-2 contained raw materials to increase octane in premium gasoline and tanks T-3 and T-7 contained nafta.
Harun said the fire was put out faster than expected after a terminator canon foam was used in the firefighting on Tuesday at 09.15 a.m. The device was able to shoot a mixture of foam and water with a spraying capacity of up to 3,500 gallons per minute.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
