The video circulated after a woman was injured when a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder exploded in a Jakarta home in June 2024 (archived link).
Similar clips were shared on Facebook and TikTok posts that also claimed immersing gas tanks in water would stop the leaks.
Comments on the posts suggested some users believed the claim.
“Thanks for the information,” one wrote, while another called the advice “very helpful.”
But LPG does not dissolve in water and immersing a gas cylinder in water would not reduce the risk of an explosion, experts told AFP.
‘No effect’
Heppy Wulansari, one company secretary at Pertamina Patra Niaga, the sole distributor of LPG cylinders in Indonesia, told AFP that immersing a cylinder in water has “no effect” on a gas leak.
She said Pertamina immerses its LPG cylinders in water to ensure no holes or cracks develop before filling them with gas.
However, a cylinder that is leaking gas should be moved to an open area and kept away from sources of ignition, she said on September 23.
Pertamina offers the same advice on its official website (archived link).
Joko Winanto, head of the Natural Oil, Gas and Coal Technology laboratory at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyarkata, added that the LPG used in gas cylinders cannot dissolve in water.
“Soaking cannot stop the spread of gas… so even if soaked in water, it will still spread into the air,” he told AFP on September 26.
“It is very dangerous if there is a fire source near the bucket, an explosion may occur,” he said.
AFP has debunked other misleading claims spreading in Indonesia about the safety of LPG tanks here and here.
