RUIN AT PALEMBANG
METHODICAL DUTCH
(Rec. 9 a.m.)
BATAVIA, Feb. 20,
Technicians from Paiembang who have arrived here confirm the fact that the oilfields, as well as the refineries, were effectively destroyed by the Dutch. Preparatory measures for the destruction began 18 months ago, when incendiary bombs, which could be exploded electrically from control points, were placed among the tanks. ■ ■ ? ■
When the order was given for the destruction, squads began smashing everything in the refineries. Some heated up the boilers until they burst, others threw sand into the turbines. The Diesel motors were blown to pieces.
When the oil caught fire the heat was so great that it was unbearable half a mile away. Explosion followed explosion for hours, and drilling tower after drilling tower toppled over. The 90-mile-long pipe-line to the fields at Pendopo was also destroyed.
Nothing was left intact, but, just to make sure, Dutch troops hurled shells from mortars into the blazing ruins.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 44, 21 February 1942, Page 7
Word Count
157RUIN AT PALEMBANG Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 44, 21 February 1942, Page 7
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