JAKARTA, Indonesia — An oil refinery on Java island in Indonesia caught fire early Monday, sending flames and smoke towering into the sky, injuring at least five people and prompting an evacuation of nearly 1,000 nearby residents.
The blaze at the Balongan refinery in West Java Province, which started shortly after midnight, was visible for miles and burned through the night.
In videos of the fire shared on social media, the sound of an explosion can be heard at the facility, which is about 110 miles east of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.
company was responsible for another disaster when crude oil leaked from an offshore well and contaminated a 12-mile stretch of West Java shoreline between the refinery and Jakarta. Environmentalists criticized the company for acting too slowly to contain the spill.