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Jakarta Post

Collapsed bridge claims 4 lives, injures 5

A bridge being constructed at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) compound in Cikini, Central Jakarta, collapsed on Friday leaving four construction workers dead and five others injured

Dewanti A. Wardhani (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, November 1, 2014

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Collapsed bridge claims 4 lives, injures 5

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bridge being constructed at the Taman Ismail Marzuki (TIM) compound in Cikini, Central Jakarta, collapsed on Friday leaving four construction workers dead and five others injured.

An employee at the nearby PGI Cikini Hospital in Central Jakarta, Lydia, said that one of the victims, Darwanto, underwent an operation for a broken leg. Another victim, Harto, was treated for severe wounds to his left leg and a third, Imam, had stitches to the left side of his lip because it was torn.

'€œAll three were admitted as inpatients to the hospital,'€ she said.

Central Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hendro Pandowo confirmed that the bodies of two of the four fatalities, Budi Utomo, 25, and Harno, 40, had been sent to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta immediately after they were recovered from the rubble at 10 a.m. by the Central Jakarta Police and the Jakarta Fire Agency.

As of 3 p.m., the body of the third construction worker, Nur Ucup, 38, had been found beneath several large pieces of concrete, while the body of a fourth victim, 17-year-old Arden, was yet to be recovered.

Hendro said that all the victims were from Purwodadi, Central Java.

Hendro explained that two others had suffered minor injuries. They were released several hours after being treated at PGI Cikini Hospital.

One of the two victims, Bayu, said that the construction workers were casting concrete on the bridge at
10 p.m. on Thursday.

He explained that on Friday, all the construction workers had arrived at the site at 5:30 a.m. and none of them saw anything wrong with the construction.

'€œWhen the bridge collapsed at
6 a.m., we had all just woken up, so I can'€™t tell you much about what happened. A coworker was with me on the ground at the time,'€ he said.

Bayu said, at that time, he had not heard much except warnings from his fellow colleagues to watch out for the collapsing bridge. Some of the rubble had hit him and he had fallen unconscious for a while.

Jakarta Fire Agency head Subejo said the collapse might have been caused by concrete that had not properly set yet. '€œThe concrete has started to set now. After we make sure we have evacuated everybody, we will comb the area to find clues as to what may have caused the collapse.'€

Library and Archives Agency head Agus Suradika said that the bridge'€™s construction would be postponed while the police investigated the cause of the collapse. He explained that the bridge was being built to connect TIM'€™s library and an archives building that was still under construction. He said the construction, costing Rp 23.9 billion (US$1.9 million), started in September and was to be completed on Dec. 15.

'€œThe contractor is PT Sartonia Agung,'€ he said.

Agus said that the library was expected by the Jakarta administration to be the best in the city.

The three-story library had already been completed, while the eight-story archives building was still under construction.

He added that the structure was insured and that the victims would be given financial compensation through the Social Security Management Agency'€™s occupational division (BPJS Ketenagakerjaan).

Central Jakarta Police chief detective Adj. Sr. Comr. Tatan Dirsa Atmaja said the police had yet to question anybody about the incident.

'€œWe have to make sure that all the construction workers have been evacuated first,'€ he said. (fss)

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