Breathtaking Carrefour sees staff sick for 5th time

Mustaqim Adamrah ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Mon, 05/05/2008 11:26 AM  |  City

A ventilation failure occurred Sunday for the fifth time at France-based retailer Carrefour's outlet in Ratu Plaza shopping center, Central Jakarta.

The incident caused dozens of store employees to be rushed to hospital.

Carrefour spokesman Irawan Kadarman said the failure occurred after state electricity company PLN temporarily cut the power supply.

"PLN has cut the power supply to Ratu Plaza building since 12 a.m. without prior notification," he told The Jakarta Post Sunday afternoon.

"Carrefour is situated in the basement. Poor air circulation is bound to happen whenever the power goes down," he said.

Irawan also said when contacted by Carrefour management, PLN promised the power cut would only be for four hours and that it would resume supply at around 4 or 5 p.m.

"But we haven't seen any positive signals until now," he said, adding that the poor air circulation was the responsibility of PT Ratu Sayang -- Ratu Plaza's operator.

Irawan said Carrefour management had quickly evacuated its customers and employees after the power cut.

No health complaints were filed by customers, he said.

Irawan said he received reports that 25 employees were rushed to a number of referred hospitals, including Pertamina Hospital in South Jakarta, for "medical check ups".

"They reportedly were weak, unfit, or had an headache," Irawan said. "But none of them passed out."

"They all have now returned to their homes," he said.

Pertamina Hospital spokeswoman, Titi Wahyuni, provided a different number -- she said the hospital had treated 27 Carrefour employees.

"All the 27 patients are Carrefour employees, according to a Carrefour human resource department staffer," she told the Post.

"They vomited, felt nauseous or had headache, some also had respiratory problems," she said.

According to Titi, 22 patients had recovered and returned home, while doctors were yet to decide whether the remaining five needed to stay at the hospital for further treatment.

Separately, Governor Fauzi Bowo demanded an inspection over the incident.

City Property Management and Control Agency head Hari Sasongko, Central Jakarta Sub-Agency head Sulastono and Central Jakarta Mayor Sylviana Murni were not available for comment.

The branch closed twice in late 2002 after there were two carbon monoxide leaks. The first, in November, caused 45 employees to be hospitalized. In December that year, 20 employees were reportedly poisoned by the gas.

In the third incident, 119 people, including shoppers, were hospitalized in May 2007. The fourth happened in December last year, when 19 employees were reported to have health problems after a leak.

In the incident last December, Hari's agency found that the two power generators at the building's basement were defect and not able to supply enough energy when a blackout occurred.

The agency had since sealed the parking lot at the building's basement, where the generators were situated.

The agency lifted the seal late April after the building's management replaced the defect generators.

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