MEDAN (Indonesia), May 13 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Rescuers have discovered
the charred remains of at least seven people a day after a series of
explosions aboard an Indonesian oil tanker, and police said Tuesday
the toll could rise.
The dead were among dozens trapped on the 250-metre Jag
Leela when it burst into flames after several explosions at North
Sumatra’s Belawan port, one of the country’s busiest sea ports.
Firefighters aboard another boat battled for hours to extinguish
the inferno on the Indonesia flagged vessel, which was docked for
repairs.
“The deceased were among those trapped during the blaze. They
didn’t find a way out,” said North Sumatra Police spokesperson MP Nainggolan.
DNA tests were being performed to identify badly burned victims,
and some crew were still missing, he added.
The blaze injured at least 22 people.
The cause of the explosions and fire was not yet known, authorities said.
Tina Siregar said two of her brothers may be among the dead.
“Both of them were working to repair the tanker,” she said.
“They were on board when this happened.”
Indra, a member of the SAR team deployed to the scene, said the team had only managed to identify one of the recovered bodies.
“Of the seven bodies we’ve found, only one has been immediately identified as Soewondo. The rest have been severely burned,” Indra told The Jakarta Post, adding that the victims were presumably trapped inside the ship during the fire.
Nainggolan said the bodies of the seven victims had been transferred to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in the city for identification. “The number of casualties may still increase as the search operation is still under way.”
Bhayangkara Police Hospital deputy head, Adj. Sr. Comr. Zulhairi, said the hospital had identified another body, without providing further details.
The hospital set up an emergency post to gather data on the victims from their relatives to help them identify the remaining bodies.
Previously, authorities confirmed 22 crew members were injured while several others were trapped in the oil tanker. The injured victims were immediately rushed to nearby hospitals.
Witnesses said an explosion occurred on Monday morning when the ship was about to dock at the Waruna Shipyard in the port. A column of thick smoke began rising from the oil tanker at 8:30 a.m.
Local authorities struggled to put out the resulting flames until 3 p.m. as the remaining oil stored in the ship’s hold had caught fire.
The police are still investigating the cause of the blaze. — NNN-AGENCIES
