13 Injured as old oil well catches fire

Thirteen people have been injured after an old oil well caught fire in East Aceh, according to media reports.

?Hundreds of residents were working. Some were drilling, some were pumping the oil out of the well,? Zulbahri, subdistrict head of Ranto Peureulak, told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.

?Suddenly the pumping machine caught fire, burst into flames and spread out over the workers.?

Traditional oil drilling, where local residents exploit oil from wells that are no longer used by companies, is illegal under a 2001 law.

The oil-drilling site was a former location of Asamera Oil Ltd, which explored here in the 1980s. (*)