Death toll from Indonesia blast climbs to 11

SIDOARJO, Indonesia, Nov 24 (Reuters) Three more bodies were found today near the scene of a gas pipeline explosion in Indonesia's East Java province which was linked to a devastating mudflow, pushing the overall death toll to 11.

The blast late on Wednesday, which disrupted gas operations in the region covered by state oil company Pertamina's East Java Gas Pipeline, occurred in the area where hot mud has been gushing unchecked from near the Banjar Panji exploratory gas well since the end of May following a drilling accident.

The pipeline was located underneath sand-and-gravel dikes made to contain the mud. The transmission pipe broke after land subsidence hiked the pressure, igniting some of the gas.

The mudflow has inundated several villages, dozens of factories and swathes of paddy and sugarcane fields, causing an unfolding environmental disaster in Sidoarjo, an industrial suburb of Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city and port.

Three more bodies were found today, officials said, and rescuers were still searching for one more missing person.

The dead and missing due to the blast were soldiers or site workers assigned to help contain the mud.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono yesterday ordered the total closure of the 1,090 acre area affected by the mudflow, saying it was considered a dangerous area.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said government experts were convinced they could plug the leak by January.

Efforts to stop the mud torrent have been unsuccessful so far and several government contingency plans failed to materialise for various reasons, including moving key roads and railroad tracks affected by the mudflow.

More than 10,000 people have been displaced so far by the mud, gushing at a rate of 50,000 cubic metres a day from the well.

The Banjar Panji well was operated by Indonesia's Lapindo Brantas, a unit of PT Energi Mega Persada, partly owned by the Bakrie Group, which is controlled by the family of Indonesia's chief social welfare minister Aburizal Bakrie.

The firm has denied the mud flow is directly linked to the drilling operation.

REUTERS DKA BS1624