T

he collapse of an elevated pedestrian bridge in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta, on Saturday has triggered concerns about safety in public places. In the past, pedestrians have fallen victim to different kinds of misfortune on pedestrian bridges throughout the city.

The incident, which occurred during a rainy afternoon, killed three pedestrians, all women, and injured eight others. All the fatalities are Depok residents. Their bodies were sent to their respective homes for burial on Sunday.

Meanwhile, those injured were taken to Tarakan Hospital in Central Jakarta and Siaga Raya Hospital in South Jakarta.

Depok Deputy Mayor Pradi Supriatna has called on Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama to take responsibility for the deaths of the Depok residents in the incident, blaming the tragedy on the Jakarta administration’s failure to maintain its public facilities.

“Ahok should take responsibility. [The incident occurred] at an overlooked public facility. One that had not been well maintained,” Pradi said after visiting the house of one of the victims in Pancoran Mas, Depok.

Specifically, he told the Jakarta administration to arrange compensation for the families of the victims and to pay all their hospital bills.

“We also want the police to investigate the possibility of human error in the inspection and maintenance of public facilities that have caused fatalities,” said Sri Utomo, civil affairs assistant with the Depok administration.

Saturday’s incident is not the first instance of misfortune striking pedestrians on pedestrian bridges.

In November last year, a female private company staffer was raped by a drunk thug while crossing a pedestrian bridge in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta. The incident occurred after office hours in the afternoon. The road under the bridge was still crowded when the assault took place.

The incident made headlines and the city administration responded by installing lights and surveillance cameras at crime-prone pedestrian bridges throughout the capital, including the one where the rape occurred.

Before that, two people died from an electric shock on a pedestrian bridge in Mangga Dua, North Jakarta. The incident occurred in September 2015. The two persons were Transjakarta employees who were on duty at a nearby bus station.

“Thoroughly examine all pedestrian bridges in Jakarta,” said Tulus Abadi, chairman of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation, in a statement on Sunday.

Tulus suspects that Sunday’s incident and other crimes recorded on pedestrian bridges are just the tip of the iceberg. He believes this to be the case because many other pedestrian bridges are built without considering safety and security standards.

“It is necessary to ensure that pedestrian bridges meet safety and security standards,” he said.

Initially putting the blame on a huge advertising banner installed on one side of the bridge, the city administration is investigating why the bridge collapsed.

“We are examining the bridge. It is going on now,” Ahok said.

South Jakarta Social Agency head Mursidin said the administration had provided compensation to all victims and their families.

Mursidin also confirmed that the administration regularly checked public facilities, especially in areas prone to floods and landslides, to prevent similar such disasters from happening.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency, which maintains pedestrian bridges in the capital, said that the administration had allocated more than Rp 9 billion (US$687,810) for the maintenance of 61 pedestrian bridges in Jakarta.