Oil pipe goes up in flames

Construction accident sparks fire beside toll road in West Java

JAKARTA: An underground oil pipe belonging to state-owned energy company Pertamina erupted into flames beside a toll road near Bandung in West Java due to a construction mishap, according to the toll road’s operator, state-owned company Jasa Marga.

The incident claimed one victim, identified as Li Xuan Feng, a heavy machinery operator with PT Mingshun Construction, who was working on a railway project during the accident.

“The fire was caused by the bored pile of (train developer) Kereta Cepat Indonesia China (KCIC) hitting Pertamina’s fuel pipe,” said Jasa Marga in a statement issued on Tuesday.

Jasa Marga responded to the fire, which started at 2pm near the construction site of the Jakarta– Bandung high-speed railway, by redirecting traffic on the Purbaleunyi toll road until 5.38pm, by which time the fire was extinguished.

West Java police chief Insp-Gen Rudy Sufahriadi told Antara news agency that authorities “suspect a worker impaled a hard object on the ground and hit Pertamina’s (oil) pipe”.

The 30cm-diameter pipe, buried up to 5m underground, was channelling diesel from a fuel facility at Ujung Berung regency in the east to Padalarang regency in the west, bypassing Bandung city, said a Pertamina spokesperson.

Pertamina and KCIC said in separate statements that they were still investigating the cause of the fire.

“Our priority is ensuring the safety (of people) around the location in cooperation with project contractors, Pertamina and other stakeholders,” said a spokesperson from KCIC, which is developing the

Jakarta-Bandung high-speed train railway slated for operation by 2021.

“We emphasise that Pertamina has no operational and technical activity in the affected area,” said Pertamina spokesperson Fajriyah Usman, adding that the company was still gathering information about a possible victim of the fire.

She told reporters on Tuesday evening that the fire was extinguished at 5.20pm by a team of around 20 firefighting vehicles that were owned by, among others, the energy company, regional administration and local police. — The Jakarta Post/ANN

— The Jakarta Post/ANN In the heat: Firefighters tackling the blaze at the pipeline belonging to state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina in South Cimahi, West Java.