Illegal oil well kills 15 in Indonesia
Indonesia The 250-metre well ignited when people were attempting to collect the oil overflowing from it, National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said. Local authorities suggested the fire may have been caused by pipe welding or smoking at the site in Aceh.
Fifteen people have been reported killed, five nearby houses damaged and about 40 people injured.
“I woke up when a very loud explosion shook our house like an earthquake,” AP quoted local resident Riska Sri Maulidyawati as saying. “All our neighbours ran out to see what happened, but another loud explosion made everyone run away in panic.”
Local communities commonly drill such oil wells in the Aceh region.
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