Gas leak caused drug store explosion: Police

YOGYAKARTA: Police announced Friday that an explosion at a drugstore, which damaged the building and injured three people, was caused by a gas leak.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Sudarmanto, the city police deputy chief, said that initial investigations had not found any traces of explosives or chemicals that may have caused the explosion, which happened Thursday morning.

He said the police found a large gas tank, which may have leaked, inside the Medistra drugstore.

The gas leak may have been ignited by a short circuit, which would have caused an explosion, Sudarmanto said. "Of 12 witnesses we have questioned, a store employee said the gas tank had leaked but it had been repaired three days ago," he said.

The police have not yet named suspects in a possible case of negligence.

Yogyakarta Police chief Brig. Gen. Sunaryono had said the explosion had nothing to do with terrorism.

"Based on an investigation at the accident site, we can conclude that the explosion was not *caused by* a bomb or other terrorist actions," Sunaryono said Thursday when visiting the site of the explosion. - JP