Hot Mud Buries Villages On The Island Of Java

SIDOARJO, INDONESIA - SEPTEMBER 4: A man watches as steam rises over a pool of leaked mud flowing out from an oil and gas exploration well, September 4, 2006 in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia. Since late May 2006 authorities and well operator PT Lapindo Brantas have been struggling to plug the leak that has buried more than 20 square kilometers of villages and land; displacing more than 10,000 people from their homes. The mudflow could have been triggered by a crack at about 1,800 meters in the exploration well. (Photo by Dimas Ardian / Getty Images)