•    HOME   
•    NEWS   
•    BUSINESS   
•    INTERNATIONAL   
•    TECH   
•    SPORTS   
•    LIFE & TIMES   
•    OPINION   
•    MY JAKARTA   
•    BLOGS   
•    EYEWITNESS   

<b>Jakarta.</b>  Though news of gas cylinder explosions filled headlines almost daily, 35-year-old Bekasi resident Herna Novianti said she was never all that worried.

Her husband, Sumantri, worked in the kitchen of a club in Glodok, West Jakarta, and was the most cautious person she knew when it came to handling gas stoves.

But on July 4, a Sunday, her husband and two neighbors, Darsidi and Purwanto, became part of the growing list of LPG cylinder explosion victims — not of the subsidized 3-kilogram cylinders, but of the 12-kilogram ones.

The Center for Public Interest Studies (Puskepi) has recorded 78 explosions so far this year, up from a total of 50 in 2009.

Most of the incidents involve the 3-kilogram cylinders distributed by the government under a nationwide program to phase out kerosene, leading to follow-up efforts to replace faulty parts, arrest illegal distributors and compensate victims.

Largely left out of the news, however, are the victims of the 12-kilogram gas cylinder blasts.

Outside the burn unit of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta, Herna told the Jakarta Globe that her husband and neighbors had set out to look into a gas leak coming from a neighbor’s empty house.

“No one knows why Darsidi turned on the stove when he should have known the house was filled with gas,” Herna said.

The resulting explosion was powerful enough to destroy four neighboring homes, including Herna’s. Darsidi suffered third-degree burns on 70 percent of his body and died on Monday.

Sumantri had burns on a third of his body, while Purwanto only suffered light burns to his hands.

“Half of our house was destroyed. My husband can’t walk because his legs, including the soles of his feet, were severely burned,” Herna continued.

“His medication costs more than Rp 13 million [$1,440], and his stay at the hospital is Rp 12.9 million and counting. I have no idea how we’ll pay for it.”

State-owned oil and gas company PT Pertamina, which is supposed to compensate gas explosion victims, has not contacted her since the accident.

“I heard they don’t cover the 12-kilogram cases,” Herna said.

She said her husband’s boss was looking into whether the company’s insurance policy would cover his treatment.

Tangerang resident Muhammad Sofyan faces the same problem. On the morning of July 13, a 12-kilogram gas cylinder explosion killed his wife, Nursiah, and left him with severe burns to 35 percent of his body.

His daughter, Yeni Yuniarti, told the Globe that after the family appealed to Pertamina, the company agreed to pay Rp 7.5 million to cover for Nursiah’s death, plus an extra Rp 12.5 million.

But Sofyan’s growing medical bills — the operations at state-owned Gatot Subroto Hospital in Jakarta will cost at least Rp 100 million — will not be covered.

“We’ve been told [by Pertamina] that we’re not eligible for reimbursement because their insurance policy only covers explosions involving the 3-kilogram cylinders,” Yeni said.

Pertamina spokeswoman Wianda Pusponegoro said the company provided limited aid in the case of blasts involving the 12-kilogram cylinders.

“The 12-kilogram customers are better off than the 3-kilogram ones, so we usually only give them Rp 1 or 2 million, depending on their situation,” she said, adding the 12-kilogram tanks had been around since the 1970s and did not have as bad a safety record.

For 3-kilogram gas cylinder explosions, Pertamina pays a maximum of Rp 25 million for a death or permanent injury, Rp 25 million for hospital care, Rp 2 million for a funeral and Rp 100 million for property damage.

The company said it has paid Rp 3 billion to victims since 2007.

Still, Wianda said Pertamina would provide assistance on a case-by-case basis, and “any help beyond this is voluntary and out of Pertamina’s goodwill.”

However, Jakarta Police environmental unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Saputra said that the 12-kilogram cylinder incidents could be linked to the government program to distribute the 3-kilogram cylinders.

As the 3-kilogram cylinders are subsidized, refilling stations sometimes tamper with them, siphoning their contents into the 12-kilogram cylinders, which sell for more per volume.

“The perpetrators use injections to either refill a 12-kilogram cylinder with gas from a 3-kilogram one, or to reduce the weight,” he said.

“This can result in the safety seal getting loose.”

On Wednesday, members of the National Committee of Indonesian Youth (KNPI) demonstrated outside Pertamina headquarters in Central Jakarta, holding banners demanding that the company take greater responsibility.

Pertamina president director Karen Agustiawan, in a meeting with legislators on Thursday over the issue, said she would refer to police investigations into these explosions before making any decisions on the matter.


Additional reporting from Anita Rachman & Zaky Pawas