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At least 20 people were injured in a major fire in a refinery in Indonesia on Monday.
The fire was triggered shortly after midnight by an explosion in the plant in Indramayu in the province of West Java, the authorities said.
Around 1000 people who lived near the refinery had to be brought to safety.
According to the first unsecured findings of the fire department, a lightning strike may have triggered the fire.
"What triggered the fire is still unclear, but at the time it was raining and lightning," said Ifky Sukarya, spokesman for the Indonesian energy giant Pertamina.
Among the 20 injured, four students were badly burned.
They were walking past the refinery when it exploded.
A person had died of a heart attack, which appeared to have been triggered by the explosion, although externally unharmed.
Force threw people into the rice field
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In addition, three people were missing.
The explosion hurled them into a rice field, eyewitnesses reported.
TV images showed explosions and thick black smoke.
Ifki Sukarya of the operating company Refinery and Petrochemical Sub Holding PT Kilang Pertamina Internasional said the plant was regularly closed to control the flow of oil and prevent the flames from spreading.
The night sky is brightly lit by a fire that rages through the Pertamina Balongan Refinery
Source: dpa / -