Khairul Saleh, Palembang – An ammonia gas leak Saturday at state fertilizer company PT Pusri in Palembang, South Sumatra, made residents living near the factory sick, an environmental group says.

The community living in the Tiga Hilir subdistrict next to the factory had become nauseous from the potentially fatal gas that began leaking on Saturday, the South Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) said.

Walhi accused PT Pusri of negligence said the company should take responsibility for the incident under the 1997 Environmental Protection Law on industrial pollution.

Campaign division head Dodi Reza said the provincial Environmental Impact Control Agency (Bapedalda) must be proactive in resolving the matter. "Bapedalda should not be afraid to publicly air its findings (on the leak)," Dody said.

Residents said the company had tried to cover up its responsibility for the pollution. "We don't want PT Pusri just to apologize, but to take real measures and pay more attention to the local environment. The little people are always the victims, especially in the event of gas leaks," a local resident, Yani, said Tuesday.

Another resident, Umar, said many villagers felt dizzy and had experienced breathing difficulties when they were performing the tarawih evening prayers (Saturday) because of the smell of ammonia in the mosque. "Some even fainted," he said.

PT Pusri spokesman Jakfar Abdullah acknowledged a gas leak had occurred in the plant's 1B urea factory. He said the problem had been fixed an hour later by suspending the factory's operations.

However, Jakfar claimed the gas was not responsible for residents' ailments because they had suffered from respiratory illnesses before the leak. "Results from medical tests indicate the residents felt nauseous not from ammonia but because they were already sick," Jakfar said.

Dodi said PT Pusri was lying if it denied responsibility for making the villagers sick. He accused the medical staff at the local hospital of colluding with the company and trying to cover up residents' test results.

"Our intention that patients would state they were suffering from breathing difficulties due to exposure to ammonia has failed. The company has said residents were suffering from (other) respiratory illnesses. That isn't true," Dody said.