By Kanupriya Kapoor and Agustinus Beo Da Costa
KOSAMBI, Indonesia (Reuters) - Indonesian investigators combed a burnt-out fireworks factory on Friday after explosions and fire killed 47 people and injured dozens, as doctors treated survivors suffering from horrific burns of up to 80 percent of their bodies.
In one of Indonesia's worst industrial disasters, many workers were unable to escape the fire at the plant in Tangerang, an industrial and manufacturing hub near Jakarta, on Thursday.
Police and residents broke holes in the walls to help trapped workers forced back by the intense heat from the fire.
On Friday, a pile of sacks was still smoldering as forensics experts prepared to search for human remains. The disaster will throw a new focus on safety standards at workplaces in Indonesia, where rules are often poorly enforced.
Tangerang police chief Harry Kurniawan told Reuters that authorities were still investigating the cause of the fire and denied reports that the gates at the factory had been locked.
"According to eyewitnesses who were injured and are now at the hospital, some of the victims escaped or were rescued through the main gate, so the gate was open," Kurniawan said.
Responding to a report that under-age workers had been at the factory, he said investigations so far had not shown this to be the case. Hospital records seen by Reuters showed two of the injured were aged 15 and 16.
Yudi Firmansyah, a Tangerang General Hospital spokesman, said it was treating 12 patients some of whom were suffering burns to between 40-80 percent of their bodies.
"We are expecting treatment to take a long time. First there’s the life-saving stage, then further treatment to prevent infections, and cosmetic procedures,” added Firmansyah
A relative of one victim told Media Indonesia her sister had only been working for a week at the factory before the blast and her condition was very bad.
"From the tips of her toes to the top of her head is burnt. Her face also. Her skin is peeling off," said Lili Aliani, 29.
NARROW ESCAPE
Officials have warned that the death toll could rise, but there were also narrow escapes at the factory, which was staffed mainly by young women said to be paid about $3 a day.
Fitri, 18, told Kompas media she survived by taking shelter in a large tub of water, which was used to clean equipment, along with four other workers before getting out.
"If we stay here we won't be safe," she eventually told her friends, before climbing a 3-metre (10-ft) wall next to the tub and breaking through the fibro roof, from where she was assisted by residents with a ladder.The report said the fire was thought to have started in a holding area next to the front gate where fireworks were stored.
Victims in orange body bags were transported to a police hospital in East Jakarta for identification by families.
Sugeng Priyanto, an official at the Ministry of Manpower, told Metro TV that a team was investigating safety standards at the PT Panca Buana Cahaya Sukses warehouse, which according to media reports had been operating for only two months.
Tangerang Regent Ahmed Zaki said the company had a permit to pack and wrap fireworks, though not produce them at the warehouse, which was close to a school and housing.
Police had started questioning the owner of the company, who was in Malaysia at the time of the fire, along with seven witnesses, said Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono.
Jakarta-based Concord Consulting said the disaster was an illustration of the low safety awareness in Indonesia.
"Regulations may be in place officially, but too often are simply ignored, resulting in high levels of complacency," it said in its daily report.
