Jakarta: At least ten people were killed and 40 others were injured after an explosion at a traditional oil well in East Aceh regency on Wednesday morning.



 "The explosion occurred during a drilling operation. It created a 100 meter flame burst," National Police spokesman Brigadier General Muhammad Iqbal said.

Police have sterilized the location to prevent more casualties. They have coordinated with other related agencies to put out the fire."The fire is still on going. We are still gathering information," he added.Traditional oil wells are easily found in the oil-righ regency. They are not closely supervised by the government.(WAH)</s>At least 15 people have been killed and dozens others injured after an unregulated oil well in western Indonesia burst into flames.

The incident took place in the northwestern region of Aceh during the early hours on Wednesday.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the well in Pasi Putih village in the east of Aceh province ignited about 1:30am (18:30 GMT). Five nearby houses were burned in the inferno.

He said the well, drilled to a depth of about 250 metres, was gushing when it ignited and many people were around it trying to collect the oil.

"The well was 'traditional' and it was owned by none and was used by the local community in the Pasi Putih village of the eastern Aceh province," he added.

Aceh has substantial natural resources of oil and natural gas. There are many illegal wells throughout the areas.

"I woke up when a very loud explosion shook our house like an earthquake," a resident in the area told the Associated Press.

"All our neighbours ran out to see what happened, but another loud explosion made everyone run away in panic," she said.

Dozens of people were taken to hospital in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, several hours away, the agency said, adding that state oil firm Pertamina was providing equipment to help fight the fire.

The exact cause of the explosion is unknown, but the head of police in the area said the oil well might have been drilled illegally and the fire might have been started when someone was smoking a cigarette.

Such illegal drilling is common in Aceh, where state-run oil and natural gas company Pertamina operates an oil field.</s>JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The death toll from a fire at an unregulated oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province has risen to 21 following the deaths of three more victims.

The head of the Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency, Teuku Ahmad Dadek, said Thursday that 38 people are still being treated at three hospitals. Many had severe burns.

The newly drilled oil well in Pasir Putih village in eastern Aceh district exploded into flames early Wednesday. Five nearby houses were engulfed. Many of the victims had been collecting oil from the gushing well.

Aceh, at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, has significant commercially untapped natural gas reserves and is dotted with illegal wells.</s>JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s disaster agency said on Wednesday that 10 people had been killed and an unknown number injured after a fire at an oil well in far western province of Aceh.

The disaster agency said in a statement that the fire may have been caused by pipe welding at the site.

The Antara state agency earlier said five people had been killed and dozens injured due to illegal drilling at the well.</s>The death toll from an oil well explosion in Indonesia has climbed to 21, with dozens of others in hospital, authorities said Thursday, as they extinguished the towering blaze.

The latest toll was more than double an initial count of 10 as more victims succumbed to their injuries in hospital following the accident early Wednesday morning.

An oil spill sparked a huge fire that shot up some 70 metres (230 feet) in the air, above homes and palm trees in a residential area on Sumatra island’s Aceh province.

Several houses were also destroyed in the explosion in the village of Peureulak until authorities finally managed to snuff out the blaze.

“The fire has been extinguished now.... We are still monitoring the injured and the situation at the accident,” said Henny Nurmayani, an official at Aceh’s disaster mitigation agency.

Three dozen victims remain in hospital, she added.

The victims were collecting oil from around the entrance of the illegal old well bore when the fire erupted, police said.

Authorities are still investigating the accident, but suggested a lit cigarette as a possible cause.

“There were many people there who were smoking,” national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said earlier.

“It’s a village, so many were scrambling to get oil and it was crowded.”

East Aceh is dotted with numerous small-scale oil drilling operations, which are often run illegally by local villagers.

There are reportedly tens of thousands of such wells across the Indonesian archipelago.

Abandoned oil wells are sometimes re-tapped while locals also drill into fresh sites to find new sources.

Deadly fires are not uncommon in Indonesia, a sprawling country of more than 260 million people where safety regulations are often flouted.

In October 47 people died after a blaze tore through a fireworks factory outside Jakarta.</s>related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

2 related media assets (image or videos) available. Click to see the gallery.

Firefighters in Indonesia struggled on Wednesday to contain a blaze at an oil well in the northwestern province of Aceh that killed at least 15 people and injured 40, authorities said.

BANDA ACEH, Indonesia: Firefighters in Indonesia struggled on Wednesday to contain a blaze at an oil well in the northwestern province of Aceh that killed at least 15 people and injured 40, authorities said.

Flames towered over houses and trees as firefighters hosed down the area while villagers looked on, pictures posted on social media by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency, showed.

"We are still collecting data on the number of victims because the fire has not been extinguished," the agency said in a statement.

The fire broke out early on Wednesday, after a well of depth 250 metres (820 ft) overflowed and residents gathered to collect the oil, the agency said.

Dozens of people were taken to hospital in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, several hours away, the agency said, adding that state oil firm Pertamina was providing equipment to help fight the fire.

At least eight fire trucks had been deployed to douse the blaze.

The head of police in the area said the oil well might have been drilled illegally and the fire might have been started when someone was smoking a cigarette.

"We suspect this is a well drilled by the community ... and we suspect there was someone smoking in the area at the time," said police official Wahyu Kuncoro.

Such illegal drilling is common in Aceh, where Pertamina operates an oil field.</s>At least 10 people were burned to death after an apparently unregulated oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province caught fire.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the well caught fire earlier Wednesday and is still burning.

He said the well was gushing when it ignited and many people were nearby trying to collect the oil.

The agency listed 19 people as injured and said five houses were destroyed by the inferno.</s>BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, April 25 (Reuters) - Firefighters in Indonesia are struggling to contain a blaze at an oil well in the northwestern province of Aceh that killed ten people and injured as many as 40, authorities said on Wednesday.

Flames towered over houses and trees as firefighters hosed down the area while villagers watched, in pictures posted on social media by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of Indonesia's disaster mitigation agency.

"We are still collecting data on the number of victims because the fire has not been extinguished yet," the agency said in a statement.

The fire broke out in the east Aceh district in the early hours of Wednesday, after a well of depth 250 metres (820 ft) overflowed and residents gathered to collect the oil, the agency added.

Dozens of people were being rushed to hospital in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, it said, adding that state oil firm Pertamina was providing equipment to help control the fire.

The head of police in east Aceh said the oil well might have been drilled illegally and the fire might have been started when someone was smoking a cigarette.

"We suspect this is a well drilled by the community...and we suspect there was someone smoking in the area at the time," said police official Wahyu Kuncoro. The number of injured stood at 40, he added.

Such illegal drilling is common in Aceh, where Pertamina operates an oil field. (Reporting by Reuters stringer in Banda Aceh; Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor Writing by Ed Davies Editing by Clarence Fernandez)</s>The death toll from a fire at an unregulated oil well in Indonesia’s Aceh province has risen to 21 following the deaths of three more victims.

The head of the Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency, Teuku Ahmad Dadek, said Thursday that 38 people are still being treated at three hospitals. Many had severe burns.

The newly drilled oil well in Pasir Putih village in eastern Aceh district exploded into flames early Wednesday. Five nearby houses were engulfed. Many of the victims had been collecting oil from the gushing well.

Aceh, at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, has significant commercially untapped natural gas reserves and is dotted with illegal wells.</s>BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Firefighters in Indonesia are struggling to contain a blaze at an oil well in the northwestern province of Aceh that killed ten people and injured as many as 40, authorities said on Wednesday.

Flames towered over houses and trees as firefighters hosed down the area while villagers watched, in pictures posted on social media by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.

“We are still collecting data on the number of victims because the fire has not been extinguished yet,” the agency said in a statement.

The fire broke out in the east Aceh district in the early hours of Wednesday, after a well of depth 250 meters (820 ft) overflowed and residents gathered to collect the oil, the agency added.

Dozens of people were being rushed to hospital in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, it said, adding that state oil firm Pertamina was providing equipment to help control the fire.

The head of police in east Aceh said the oil well might have been drilled illegally and the fire might have been started when someone was smoking a cigarette.

“We suspect this is a well drilled by the community...and we suspect there was someone smoking in the area at the time,” said police official Wahyu Kuncoro. The number of injured stood at 40, he added.

Such illegal drilling is common in Aceh, where Pertamina operates an oil field.
The death toll from yesterday's oil well explosion and fire in Pasir Putih, Aceh, Indonesia reaches 22.