An Indonesian official hit back at critics of a plan to control a gushing mud volcano by dropping concrete balls into its crater, saying something has to be done to stop a nine-month-long eruption that has displaced 11,000 people.
A team of geologists and engineers planned to lower the first of hundreds of balls into the gaping hole at a gas exploration site on Java island later yesterday.
They hope the plan, believed to have never been tried before, will reduce the amount of mud flowing from the geyser by up to 70 percent.
PHOTO: AP
The mud is now surging out at a rate of about a million oil drums a day.
The plan follows an abandoned attempt to block the flow by pouring in concrete.
Critics have said they doubt the new attempt will work and may be dangerous or cause the mud to flow out from different points.
"Those experts can say what they want, but we have to do something," said Rudi Novrianto, a spokesman for a government task force handling the disaster.
"There is no time to debate and sit around," Novrianto said.
He said laboratory tests by geologists at Indonesia's most respected university had indicated the plan would work.
The team plans to drop five of the chained cement balls, each weighing up to 250kg, and monitor the effect before gradually releasing more balls into the hole, Novrianto said.
Mud volcanos are fairly common along volatile tectonic belts such as the one running below Indonesia and in areas where there are rich oil and natural gas deposits.
Opinions differ about the cause of the mud flow on Java, but experts agree that the flow could last for years.
Some scientists suggest the rupture was triggered by faulty gas exploration techniques by operator PT Lapindo Brantas.
Other research suggests it is the result of increased seismic activity in the area, with the mud flow starting two days after a major earthquake.
Lapindo is a subsidiary of PT Energy Mega Persada, controlled by the family of Indonesian Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie.
He has said repeatedly the geyser was sparked by the earthquake and that his company bears no financial liability.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of