Govt plans to expand mud settlement pond

Vice President Yusuf Kalla said that the government planned to expand the existing mud settlement pond to prevent further spread of mudflow resulting from PT Lapindo Brantas's exploration activities in Sidoarjo regency, East Java, Kompas reported Saturday.

"Probably, the pond will be expanded to another 300 hectares of land so as to ease the burden that the existing embankment has to face (caused by the continuous mudflow)," the Vice President told reporters after Friday prayer.

PT Lapindo Brantas owns the exploration site that has spewed a torrent of hot, foul-smelling mud since late May.

Previously, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro discussed the issue at the Vice Presidential Office. He said another 225 hectares will be added to the existing 150 hectares of pond.

In a separate development, one of the two men injured in an explosion at the mudflow site in Porong, Sidoarjo, reportedly died after a week?s treatment in Surabaya.

Dr. Soetomo Hospital spokesman Urip Murtejo said Yuli Eko Hartanto died of massive internal trauma caused by the blast.

Sidoarjo residents vented their frustration on Friday at the handling of mudflow disaster in a violent protest. Porong residents pelted stones and set fire to several facilities belonging to Lapindo.

?We?ve never been told about the pumps. We don?t want Porong river being used to dump the mudflow,? he told tempointeraktif.com.

Meanwhile, the East Java Police has named three new suspects, namely drilling operator Lilik Marsudi, rig supervisor Sulaiman Bin Ali and drilling foreman Sardianto. Three of them were employees of the drilling contractor PT Tiga Musim Jaya which was hired by PT Medici Citra Nusa.

Suspects in connection with Lapindo case now total twelve, including three Lapindo executives and six field operators. Lapindo has been blamed for allegedly failing to install protective casing at the required depth during the drilling process. (*)