Oil refinery tank explodes in Indonesia leading to mass evacuation

An oil refinery tank in the Central Java province of Indonesia caught fire on Saturday, forcing the evacuation of nearby residents.

According to a spokesman from PT Pertamina, the state’s oil and gas firm, the blaze broke out at around 7:30pm Jakarta time (12:30pm GMT).

The company also stressed that oil and gas supplies for buyers were not affected by the incident.

In a statement, they said: “The efforts to extinguish the fire are intensively being carried out ... Residents living around the fire site will be evacuated to safer grounds.” It is not yet known what caused the accident.