Rescuers continued searching Saturday for two more people believed to be missing in a deadly gas pipeline blast near the site of a huge mud leak on Indonesia's Java island, police said. The explosion late Wednesday in East Java's Sidoarjo district, where hot mud spewing out of an exploratory gas well has submerged large areas, has so far claimed 11 lives.
"Rescuers are still working at the site to look for two more people who, local residents say, are still missing," Tyo, an officer at the local Porong police station, told AFP.
All the victims were military or toll road staff as the area has been closed due to the mud leak.
Sidoarjo general hospital confirmed it had received 11 bodies, which were handed over to bereaved families for burial after identification.
The hospital had discharged seven of 11 people who received treatment for injuries, mostly burns, said Agus, a worker at the hospital.
The powerful blast shot flames 500 metres (1,600 feet) high, bursting a dyke built to contain mud which has inundated Sidoarjo district near the city of Surabaya.
The pipeline, about two meters underground, burst after subsidence around the gas well.
Mud spewing from the well since May has covered large swathes of land and forced more than 12,000 people to flee their homes.
A system of dykes is holding back the steaming mud, which continues to bubble from the earth at a rate of some 120,000 cubic metres each day.
Experts have been working to channel the mud to the nearby sea amid fears the impending monsoon may cause the dykes to collapse.
earlier related report
Death toll from Indonesia gas blast rises to 11
Jakarta (AFP) Nov 24 – The death toll from a gas blast near the site of a huge mud leak in Indonesia rose to 11 Friday as rescuers recovered more bodies. Emergency crews continued to search for more missing after the blast late Wednesday in East Java's Sidoarjo district, where hot mud spewing out of an exploratory gas well has submerged large areas.
"We found the bodies of two men this morning… and we are continuing the search for at least two others," said Zaenal from the East Java Search and Rescue Agency.
Another body was later recovered about 60 metres (yards) from the exploding pipe, Detikcom news portal reported. He was identified as an employee of the state construction company working on the site.
Sidoarjo general hospital confirmed it had received 11 bodies, which were handed over to bereaved families for burial after identification.
Twelve people are being treated for injuries, mostly burn wounds.
All the victims were military or toll road staff as the area has been closed due to the mud leak.
The powerful blast shot flames 500 metres high, bursting a dyke built to contain mud which has inundated Sidoarjo district near the city of Surabaya on Java island.
The pipeline, about two meters underground, burst after subsidence around the gas well.
Mud spewing from the well since May has covered large swathes of land and forced more than 12,000 people to flee their homes.
A system of dykes is holding back the steaming mud, which continues to bubble from the earth at a rate of some 120,000 cubic metres each day.
Experts have been working to channel the mud to the nearby sea amid fears the impending monsoon may cause the dykes to collapse.
Source: Agence France-Presse
