On 29 May 2006, the lives of tens of thousands irrevocably changed when mud started gushing from the ground, an environmental catastrophe that many eminent scientists attribute to a blowout that occurred during Indonesian operator Lapindo Brantas’ exploration drilling.
At its peak, 180,000 cubic metres — equivalent to 50 Olympic-size swimming pools — of mud was spewing uncontrollably every day from the ground, and five years on, about 10,000 cubic metres per day is still flowing, says the Sidoarjo Mudflow Mitigation Agency, the government body handling the disaster.
The
