REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Various misleading hoaxes of information often appear at the same time as major events take place. One of them is related to the fire that hit Pertamina's Balongan Oil Refinery in Indramayu, West Java, Indonesia.

The Terror Alarm account, in an upload on Twitter, said that the fire at the Balongan oil refinery, Indramayu, West Java on Monday (29/3) in the morning was due to a terrorist attack.

The following is the content of the narrative in English on Twitter which has been translated into Indonesian:

"BREAKING: Second terrorist attack in Indonesia: Large explosions and blazing fire hit the Balongan oil refinery in the Indramayu region, Indonesia. Many people were injured and died. #Indonesia."

The post on March 29, 2021, has been reshared 651 times and has been liked by 1,452 other Twitter users.

Then, is it true that the Balongan oil refinery caught fire due to a terrorist attack?

Explanation:

PT Pertamina, as the owner of the Balongan oil refinery, until Thursday (1/4), was still investigating the fire incident.

It is also observed that the state-owned company has not issued an official statement regarding the trigger and the chronology of the fire in Indramayu.

Pertamina Senior Vice President for Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Agus Suprijanto said that his company has formed an internal investigation team in collaboration with law enforcement officials (APH).

"In accordance with the policy of the board of directors and the direction of the board of commissioners, Pertamina fully supports the investigation process carried out by the authorities. Management will impose strict sanctions if there is an element of negligence in the incident," said Agus.

West Java Police Head of Public Relations, Kombes Erdi A. Chaniago, said that the temporary suspicion that the Pertamina Balongan Refinery burned down was due to a pipe leak.

However, according to him, this speculation needs to be explored again by the police by carrying out an investigation after the fire extinguishing at the oil refinery in Indramayu Regency, West Java, is complete.

Previously, West Java Police Chief Inspector General Pol Ahmad Dofiri said the pipe leak in the burning tank was suspected to have triggered the fire. "I think this will be the result, but this is preliminary information, because last night there was quite a big thunder too," said Dofiri while surveying the location, Monday (29/3).

Conclusion:

From this information, the narrative about the involvement of terrorists in the Balongan oil refinery fire incident is misleading information.

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