Musi Banyuasin, KOTABARI.COM – An incident involving a suspected illegal oil transporter vehicle catching fire occurred on Wednesday (17/4/2024) around 16.00 WIB on Dusun 1 Road, Dawas Village, Keluang District, Musi Banyuasin Regency.
The vehicle, a white Daihatsu Grandmax, allegedly carrying crude oil in plastic drums, was traveling from Tanjung Dalam area towards Dawas Village. However, the journey was interrupted when the vehicle experienced a leak, leading to sparks igniting the cargo.
According to the Keluang Police Chief, AKP Hendra Sutisna, accompanied by the Head of Criminal Investigation IPDA Feri, the vehicle overturned, causing the oil to spill onto the road and even spread to nearby houses. Fortunately, there were no casualties in this incident, but the driver fled and is currently being pursued.
The fire also engulfed two houses belonging to local residents and a truck parked in a garage. At present, the extent of the material losses due to this incident has yet to be estimated.
Efforts to extinguish the fire were carried out by the fire department, which successfully managed to put out the flames before Maghrib, after several fire trucks were dispatched to the scene. Meanwhile, investigations are ongoing, and authorities are searching for clues regarding the identity of the vehicle’s driver.
Keluang Subdistrict Head, Yugo Valentino, confirmed the fire incident that spread to residential houses in his area. He stated that the fire department had successfully extinguished the fire, and there were no casualties reported.
The case is currently being handled by the local police for further investigation. Losses resulting from the fire are still being assessed.