Police point to negligence in Lapindo's accident

Preliminary findings of a police investigation into a massive mud-flow accident in Lapindo's gas well Sidoarjo, East Java, blame the failure to follow standard drilling procedures, The Jakarta Post reported on Friday.

?The procedural failure was that the drilling operator did not install casing that was supposed to prevent mud leakage,? National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Bambang Kuncoko told reporters Thursday.

He said the leak during the drilling, which was conducted by PT Medici Citra Nusantara as a subcontractor of PT Lapindo Brantas Inc, occurred at a depth of 9,297 feet at the gas well.

?Both the subcontractor and the contractor have to be responsible for this incident,? Kuncoko said.

?The police will investigate further to find out what actually happened and who in the company was responsible for the incident.?

According to Kuncoko, the East Java Police summoned three PT Medici officials for questioning Wednesday. They were Rheinold, Slamet Riyanto and Budi Susanto, who were the drilling supervisors for the project.

?The team has gathered documents from PT Lapindo, including several permits for the exploration project,? he said, adding the company had not provided all the documents requested by the police.

The permits include ones for exploration, geological drilling, environmental assessment and for the conversion of land-from rice fields.

Asked if the withholding of documents could lead to tampering with important data, Kuncoko said the police would prosecute anyone who attempted to hamper a police investigation.

The National Police assigned a special team from its directorate of special crimes, led by Brig. Gen. Suharto, to assist the East Java Police in the investigation.

The police investigation has led to the questioning of 29 people, including officials from all of the companies involved, geological experts and people displaced by the mudflow.

The May 29 accident has led to a still unchecked flow of foul-smelling mud that has inundated surrounding villages, rice fields and a section of turnpike. At least 15 nearby factories have been forced to temporarily shut down their operations, with the mud covering about 130 hectares.

As of Wednesday, 3,815 villagers had been forced to vacate their homes and were being housed in shelters. The continuously expanding mud flow also threatens the Surabaya-Malang-Banyuwangi railway track.

Realizing the danger, officials from the Transportation Ministry are monitoring the railway around the clock. (*)