Massive Fire At Indonesian Oil Refinery, Nearly 1,000 Locals Evacuated

Firefighters battled to contain the fire at the Balongan refinery in West Java, operated by state oil company Pertamina, as towering plumes of black smoke rose into the sky.

A massive blaze broke out Monday at one of Indonesia's biggest oil refineries after a huge explosion turned the sprawling complex into a raging inferno. Firefighters battled to contain the fire at the Balongan refinery in West Java, operated by state oil company Pertamina, as towering plumes of black smoke rose into the sky. "There was a very loud sound and I thought it was a hurricane," one local resident, Rumaji, told AFP. "I looked outside and the fire was huge. The flames were shooting into the sky."