A massive fire broke out at one of Indonesia’s biggest oil refineries after a huge explosion turned into a raging inferno as firefighters continued the fight to contain the fire at the Balongan refinery in West Java that is operated by the state oil company Pertamina.

“There was a very loud sound and I thought it was a hurricane,” one local resident, Rumaji, told AFP.

“I looked outside and the fire was huge. The flames were shooting into the sky.”

At least five people were seriously injured and about 1,000 local residents were evacuated from the scene. The local disaster agency said one person had died from a heart attack after the explosion.

About 15 people were slightly injured and authorities said they were checking on the whereabouts of three others.

“To prevent the fire from spreading we’ve shut down operations… and are putting our efforts into handling the blaze,” Pertamina’s president director Nicke Widyawati said in a statement.

The cause of the fire that broke out during a lightning storm is yet to be ascertained. Officials said the blaze had been contained but was yet to be extinguished.

“If there’s any evidence of negligence or a violation of (health and safety) procedures, the government must file criminal charges to hold Pertamina accountable,” Greenpeace, an environmental group, said.

The sprawling plant — which opened in the mid-nineties and can refine some 125,000 barrels of oil a day — is about 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of the capital Jakarta.