Eleven die of toxic water

Eleven die of toxic water

PEMALANG, Central Java: Eleven residents of Longkeyang village, Bodeh district, have died in the past month, reportedly after drinking water drawn from a well belonging to villager Mohamad Rambat.

Head of the local health office, Dr. Subroto, said yesterday four of those who died were among the 23 people who had been treated at the Bodeh village clinic. The other seven died before they were able to seek medical help.

Regent Muhammad Munir has ordered that the well, suspected to have been contaminated by some kind of toxic substance, be closed. For years, the well, located near a dump site for cows' dung, was the main source of water for residents who did not own one.

Munir has given Rambat Rp 200,000 (US$ 87) to build a new well, given some money to the relatives of those who died, and ordered that the other wells in the village be chlorinated.

The deaths, which occurred in a row and in a relatively short time, stirred up great anxiety among the locals. Some villagers said the deaths were a curse from God. (wah/swe)