Oil well explodes in Aceh

JAKARTA (JP): An oil well owned by state-owned oil company Pertamina exploded early yesterday morning in Karang Baru subdistrict, East Aceh, 500 kilometers southeast of Aceh's capital Banda Aceh.

First Lt. Syarifuddin of the East Aceh District Military Command told The Jakarta Post that nine houses collapsed due to the force of the explosion.

No casualties have been reported so far, but some 1,400 nearby residents have been evacuated to a neighboring village.

A reporter from the private television station RCTI said fireballs soared skyward from the well.

Syarifuddin refused to speculate on the cause of the explosion and said the public should wait for further information from the local Pertamina office.

"Temporary reports said that the explosion came after a leak," he said.

The main road connecting Banda Aceh and the North Sumatra capital of Medan was temporarily closed after the oil overflowed into the road.(imn)