Surabaya,  NU Online
Hot mud coming out of Lapindo Brantas gas well again covered railway track in Ketapang Keres area, Porong, Sidoarjo, East Java, on Tuesday.

The mud level and spread have increased following the break down of one of dams built to block the mudflow.

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The mud has covered around 600-meter-long railway track in 3,200-3,800 km in Ketapang Keres area reaching up to 20 centimeters.

However, despite the mud cover, some trains continued to pass the rail tracks in emergency service, a  spokesman of the state railway company (KAI)?s Surabaya office Sudarsono said.

As reported by Antara news agency, the incessant mudflow had earlier covered the railway track and forced around 40 railway services to stop operating.

Around 300 victims of the Lapindo Brantas hot mudflow disaster rallied outside the State Palace here Monday to demand adequate compensation for property they had lost because of the calamity.

The National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) has estimated that the losses caused by the mudflow from Lapindo Brantas gas operations in Sidoarjo, East Java, in the past nine months had reached Rp27.4 trillion, consisting of Rp11.0 trillion in direct and Rp16.4 trillion in indirect losses. However, the figure could rise to Rp44.7 trillion as the potential indirect loss could swell to Rp33.7 trillion. (dar)