An oil spill in Borneo that began over the past weekend has now spread across an area greater than the city of Paris and is heading out to the open ocean, the Indonesian government said.
The spill, first reported on March 31, stems from a pipeline operated by state-owned oil firm Pertamina in the city of Balikpapan, in East Kalimantan province. A report released April 4 by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry said the slick was spreading out from Balikpapan Bay and into the Strait of Makassar, covering some 130 square kilometers (50 square miles).
Pertamina, which for days had denied responsibility for the disaster, finally admitted on April 4 that one of its pipes used for transporting crude oil was the source of the slick.
"Our preliminary investigation had indicated that the oil was ship fuel, but it was only until [the evening of April 3] that we got confirmation that it was from us," Pertamina general manager Togar M.P. told reporters. "Ever since the incident was discovered, we have shut down the pipes.
The Independent
At least 14 people have been killed in a catastrophic volcanic
eruption in Indonesia, just a day after authorities allowed thousands of
villagers to return to their homes on its slopes.
Residents in the “danger zone” around Mount Sinabung in North
Sumatra, which had been rumbling for months, had been evacuated for
their safety but were told that activity was decreasing before the
eruption on Saturday.
The 8,530ft volcano spewed lava and searing gas, sending rocks and burning ash raining down its southern slopes.
Televison
footage showed pyroclastic flows of hot gas and rock reaching up to
three miles away and villages covered in thick grey ash.
A local
television journalist and four high-school students with their teacher,
who were visiting the mountain to see the eruptions up close, were among
the dead, according to National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. At least three other people were injured and authorities fear the death toll will rise.
Authorities
in western Sumatra had evacuated more than 30,000 people, housing them
in cramped tents, schools and public buildings but many had been
desperate to return to check on homes and farms.
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