At least 10 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a fire at an illegal oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province, authorities said Wednesday.

An oil spill sparked a huge blaze about 1.30am (1830 GMT Tuesday) in a residential area that torched at least three houses and was still out of control mid-morning.

"The [fire] is still soaring high and has not yet successfully been extinguished," Saiful, head of Aceh's Ranto Peureulak subdistrict, said.

At least 10 bodies have been recovered and the death toll is expected to rise, police said, while injured victims were being treated at local hospitals.

Firefighters were at the scene, with state-owned oil company Pertamina assisting their efforts.

East Aceh is dotted with numerous small-scale oil mining operations, which are often operated illegally by local villagers. </s> Reuters file image used for representational purpose only.

BANDA ACEH: At least 10 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a fire at an illegal oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province, authorities said Wednesday.

An oil spill sparked a huge blaze about 1.30am (1830 GMT Tuesday) in a residential area that torched at least three houses and was still out of control mid-morning.

"The [fire] is still soaring high and has not yet successfully been extinguished," Saiful, head of Aceh's Ranto Peureulak subdistrict, said.

At least 10 bodies have been recovered and the death toll is expected to rise, police said, while injured victims were being treated at local hospitals.

Firefighters were at the scene, with state-owned oil company Pertamina assisting their efforts.

East Aceh is dotted with numerous small-scale oil mining operations, which are often operated illegally by local villagers. </s> Jakarta: At least ten people were killed and 40 others were injured after an explosion at a traditional oil well in East Aceh regency on Wednesday morning.



 "The explosion occurred during a drilling operation. It created a 100 meter flame burst," National Police spokesman Brigadier General Muhammad Iqbal said.

Police have sterilized the location to prevent more casualties. They have coordinated with other related agencies to put out the fire."The fire is still on going. We are still gathering information," he added.Traditional oil wells are easily found in the oil-righ regency. They are not closely supervised by the government.(WAH) </s> JAKARTA, April 25 (Reuters) - Indonesia's disaster agency said on Wednesday that 10 people had been killed and an unknown number injured after a fire at an oil well in far western province of Aceh.

The disaster agency said in a statement that the fire may have been caused by pipe welding at the site.

The Antara state agency earlier said five people had been killed and dozens injured due to illegal drilling at the well. (Reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor Writing by Ed Davies Editing by Eric Meijer) </s> At least 10 people were burned to death after an apparently unregulated oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province caught fire.

National Disaster Mitigation Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said the well caught fire earlier Wednesday and is still burning.

He said the well was gushing when it ignited and many people were nearby trying to collect the oil.

The agency listed 19 people as injured and said five houses were destroyed by the inferno. </s> AT least 10 people have been killed and dozens more injured after a fire at an illegal oil well in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

Authorities confirmed an oil spill sparked a huge blaze about 6.30pm local time (5.30am AEDT) that torched at least three houses and was still out of control mid-morning.

“The [fire] is still soaring high and has not yet successfully been extinguished,” Saiful, head of Aceh’s Ranto Peureulak subdistrict who goes by one name, said.

Aceh is a semi-autonomous Indonesian area on the northwest tip of Sumatra Island. It’s known for its beaches, diving sites and mountain wilderness areas.

It comes nearly a month after an oil spill at state-owned oil and gas firm Pertamina, in East Kalimantan, which spread across an area greater than the city of Paris and caused an out-of-control blaze that killed five fishermen.

Indonesian authorities declared a state of emergency after the spill, which has caused significant environmental and economic damage.

More to come. </s> JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia’s disaster agency said on Wednesday that 10 people had been killed and an unknown number injured after a fire at an oil well in far western province of Aceh.

The disaster agency said in a statement that the fire may have been caused by pipe welding at the site.

The Antara state agency earlier said five people had been killed and dozens injured due to illegal drilling at the well. </s> JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - The death toll from a fire at an unregulated oil well in Indonesia's Aceh province has risen to 21 following the deaths of three more victims.

The head of the Aceh Disaster Mitigation Agency, Teuku Ahmad Dadek, said Thursday that 38 people are still being treated at three hospitals. Many had severe burns.

The newly drilled oil well in Pasir Putih village in eastern Aceh district exploded into flames early Wednesday. Five nearby houses were engulfed. Many of the victims had been collecting oil from the gushing well.

Aceh, at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, has significant commercially untapped natural gas reserves and is dotted with illegal wells. </s> BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (Reuters) - Firefighters in Indonesia are struggling to contain a blaze at an oil well in the northwestern province of Aceh that killed ten people and injured as many as 40, authorities said on Wednesday.

Flames towered over houses and trees as firefighters hosed down the area while villagers watched, in pictures posted on social media by Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman of Indonesia’s disaster mitigation agency.

“We are still collecting data on the number of victims because the fire has not been extinguished yet,” the agency said in a statement.

The fire broke out in the east Aceh district in the early hours of Wednesday, after a well of depth 250 meters (820 ft) overflowed and residents gathered to collect the oil, the agency added.

Dozens of people were being rushed to hospital in the provincial capital of Banda Aceh, it said, adding that state oil firm Pertamina was providing equipment to help control the fire.

The head of police in east Aceh said the oil well might have been drilled illegally and the fire might have been started when someone was smoking a cigarette.

“We suspect this is a well drilled by the community...and we suspect there was someone smoking in the area at the time,” said police official Wahyu Kuncoro. The number of injured stood at 40, he added.

Such illegal drilling is common in Aceh, where Pertamina operates an oil field.
An oil well catches fire in Ranto Peureulak, East Aceh Regency, Indonesia, killing ten people.