Dr. Suparto Wijoyo, an environmental law expert of Airlangga University, urged the police and the Ministry of Natural Resources to investigate whether PT Pertamina, the owner of the East Java Gas Pipeline (EJGP), should be held responsible for the accident.

   He added that if the state-owned oil and gas company can prove that the cause of the explosion is the mudflow from PT Lapindo Brantas Inc's drilling site, then the latter should also be held liable. Lapindo Brantas has been under hot water since May 29, 2006 when huge volumes of mud started flowing non-stop from one of its drilling wells.

   The disastrous mudflow has since then inundated eight villages in three subdistricts in Sidoarjo. According to Antara News, efforts to stop the mudflow have failed so far. Gushing at a rate of 50,000 cubic metres a day, the mudflow has displaced more than 10,000 people. No one has been held accountable for both the mudflow incident and the explosion.

   Declaring the gas pipe explosion a "disaster" on Nov 23, a day after the accident, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered that the said 440-hectare area be declared a "danger and closed zone". The blast happened 150 metres from the PT Lapindo Brantas Inc drilling site where the mud continues to flow copiously.

   The coordinating minister of people's welfare, Aburizal Bakrie, mentioned that the government would pay two million rupiahs (218 U.S. dollars) to each gas pipeline explosion victim. PT Lapindo Brantas, meanwhile, was urged by the government to compensate the mudflow victims. The oil and gas firm is a unit of PT Energi Mega Persada, the majority of which is owned by the Bakrie goup of companies, controlled by Aburizal Bakrie's family.

   "This disaster is PT Lapindo Brantas' responsibility as a whole," said Vice President Jusuf Kalla. "The government can bear the expenses only if a special budget had been allocated for that purpose. The government needs the House of Representatives' permission."

    Constructed in 1992, the EJGP was built under the main dike that controlled the flow of mud from the earlier disaster.  The pipeline runs 430 kilometres from Pagerungan, Sumenep at Madura Island on the east of Java's north coast, to Gresik through Sidoarjo, an industrial town located in country's second largest city, Surabaya. Twenty-five local companies, including petrochemical and electric firms, have been adversely affected by the blast.

   The explosion happened 1.5 metres deep under the sand and gravel dike. Experts say the blast was caused by a rupture in the pipelines when parts of the dike collapsed and the soil above the pipes caved in. The high pressure ignited the gas, which turned into a deadly blaze.

   Most of those who were either killed or injured were PT Lapindo Brantas employes, soldiers, PT Jasa Marga officers who were overseeing road repair operations, and other project officers. The accident caused hot mud to flow and flood previously mud-free areas, including a section of a nearby toll road.

   "I was placing sand and gravel to build a dike at night," said Sukur, a 57-year-old truck driver. The father of five got his leg burnt and was saved by hiding behind his truck.

   John Dachtar, 51, told the Asia Water Wire that he heard three loud explosions on the night of Nov. 22, before a 100-metre high flame gushed out of the pipes. For 15 minutes, the greenish-black mud spewed fire before it dissipated, he added.

   "It happened so fast, and a few seconds later, I heard a boom. Then fire mixed with mud spouted (from the pipes). It was very horrible, I thought I'd die," recalled Dachtar. He is part of a team of engineers trying to stem the disastrous mudflow that struck Porong, about 1,000 kilometres east from the capital city of Jakarta, six months back.

   The mudflow dragged Dachtar's car, which he was driving at the time, off the road. He tried to get off but fell. "I tried to swim," he said, adding that he climbed a tree when the mud became hot. The rescue team found him six and a half hours later and brought him to the local hospital where he was treated for leg burns.

   Experts say it will take weeks to fix the dike. A plan to set up a new gas pipeline above the ground is still under study due to reports that the land in the surrounding areas is unstable.

    Meanwhile, Vice President Kalla said in a press conference that the six month-old mudflow could end by January next year  when the building of the well to contain the mud is finished.

   Dr. Edy Sunardi, a member of the team monitoring the mudflow, observed that the Sidoarjo downtown is highly susceptible to these cracks. He also said that the pipelines have high concentrations of a substance called thermogenic sulfur, which could prove dangerous in certain situations.

   "We need transparent management," said Rino Subagyo, deputy director of the Indonesian Centre for Enviromental Law. "It is against the law to make society keep on worrying and living in uncertainty." (END/AWW/HS/LC/120106)