East Kalimantan villagers evacuated due to oil spills
Thursday, August 19 2004 - 02:16 AM WIB
At least 96 people in the Saloloang village of East Kalimantan have been evacuated after a number of the villagers suffered headaches and stomach diseases due to unpleasant odor produced by oil spills in the sea near the village, Kompas reported on Thursday.
Samsyuddin, the head of the village, said that the stinky oil spills started to approach the beach near the village on Tuesday evening, and caused some of the residents to suffer headaches and stomach diseases.
The villagers were then evacuated to a nearby health clinic owned by Unocal on fears that the oil spills could produce poisonous gas, he said.
The local maritime authority, in cooperation with Pertamina and Unocal carried out a joint investigation on Wednesday. But they had yet to find where the oil spills were coming from. (*)