August 9, 1999
Web posted at: 7:19 p.m. EDT (2319 GMT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- An oil tanker and a tugboat collided in thick haze over the weekend, the latest disaster stemming from a blanket of heavy haze that is covering parts of southeast Asia, an Indonesian daily reported Monday

The tug and tanker collided in low visibility Saturday night, killing 10 crewmen on the river tanker. Oil leaked from the tanker, caught fire and engulfed a nearby cargo ship, Indonesia's Kompas daily reported.

The presence of a blanket of smoke has become an annual occurrence in the region, also affecting Singapore and Malaysia and at times making shipping treacherous in the Malacca Straits, which separate Indonesia's Sumatra from the two neighboring countries.

The haze has begun to clear, officials said, but pollution levels still range between unhealthy and dangerous.

"We found that there were no more major hot spots ... over the past two days," said Amrizal, an official of the Environmental Impact Management Agency in Pekanbaru. Until late last month, the agency recorded more than 1,000 hot spots in Riau, the province nearest Singapore.

Amrizal urged residents to reduce their outside activities for the time being because of health concerns.

"We really feel it in the morning, when the haze is very thick. It even burns our eyes. By 11 o'clock, 12 o'clock, it diminishes, but it still disrupts our activities," said Pekanbaru resident Zulkifli.

Environmentalists have blamed the thick smoke on blazes set by plantations and timber firms to clear forest areas at the start of this year's dry season. Local farmers practicing the slash-and-burn method to clear land before starting planting also have contributed to the smoke.

The scenes are reminiscent of the 1997 smog that paralyzed Southeast Asia for several weeks. Indonesia's leading environmental group, Walhi, has warned that this year's fires could dwarf the tragedy of two years ago unless quick measures are taken to contain the spread of fires.

Despite a call by Indonesian President B.J. Habibie to coordinate efforts to stop the fires, environmentalists say the government has done little to tackle the problem.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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