Oil spill in East Kalimantan waters remains a mystery

The cause of oil spill in Saloloang beach in East Kalimantan remains a mystery to local investigation team, nearly a month after it was first discovered, the local Kaltim Post reported on Friday.

The paper quoted investigation team head Abdul Rasyid as saying only that the oil might have been intentionally dumped into the Saloloan waters. The pollution caused by the oil spill had caused searious health threat to the local villagers.

Unocal, whose oil field is located near the polluted sea, had denied that the oil spill came from the company's tankers. But the company had agreed to test the sample of the oil spill in a laboratory. The company, together with state oil and gas firm PT Pertamina and local authorities have set up an investigation team.(*)