Mudflow Sidoarjo UPDATE:

Villagers spooked by another E. Java pipe accident

Indra Harsaputra and Ary Hermawan, The Jakarta Post, Sidoarjo/Jakarta

Panic gripped villagers in Sidoarjo, East Java, on Wednesday after mud gushed from a pipe at an exploration well, only eight kilometers from the industrial accident that caused catastrophic uncontrollable mudflow.
At around 5:30 p.m. mud and fumes were seen emanating from a flowline pipe. Traumatized villagers anxiously watched the bubbling mud due to fears it was a repeat of the mudflow disaster that is expelling 45,000 cubic meters a day.

An executive of the company operating the wells, Lapindo Brantas Inc., said leakage at the site in Ploso village, Krembung district, was caused by rusting of the four-inch-diameter pipe. Methane gas production from the well, Wunut-3, has been temporarily halted.

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Lapindo's East Java manager Rawindra said. "The gas is harmless because it carries light hydrocarbon carbon."--> "Gaat U maar rustig slapen!"