T

he Kelapa Gading Police are investigating a case of alleged negligence after the collapse of a construction crane, used to develop light rail transit (LRT) Corridor 1 Kelapa Gading-Rawamangun, that damaged a building and injured one person on Tuesday.

The accident happened when state-owned construction company PT Wijaya Karya (Wika) was conducting a lifting test on Jl. Kelapa Nias Raya, Pegangsaan Dua, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

The portal gantry crane, used by the workers, failed to set the box girder causing it to fall on the two-story offices of event organizer Dreamflavours at about 1:50 a.m. The accident damaged the building’s roof and wall.

Seven people inside the offices were rescued. One of them, Sumali, 51, a Dreamflavours employee, was taken to the nearby hospital for an injury to his leg.

On Wednesday, Kelapa Gading Police Chief Comr. Arief Fazrulrahman said they had questioned seven witnesses after the accident. “We’re still investigating the alleged negligence in this case,” Arief added.

The accident did not only damage the building, but it also caused a power outage in the area that lasted from 1:30 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Pegangsaan Dua residents reportedly used generators to produce electricity.

The traffic to and from Jl. Kelapa Nias Raya was diverted on Tuesday and returned to normal on Wednesday morning.

Wika corporate secretary Puspita Anggraeni said the company apologized for the accident and promised to bear the renovation cost for the damaged shop and pay any medical bills incurred by the victim.

The company had renovated the damaged building on Wednesday, Puspita said.

Wika said the incident had not been caused by the violation of working procedures.

“There is no negligence or procedure violations. This happened because of technical problems in the field,” she said.

In August, another crane accident at an LRT construction site in Jakabaring, Palembang, injured eight people and damaged several houses, kiosks and shops.

It was reported that PT Waskita Karya, which constructed the facility, failed to lift a box girder causing the crane to fall.

Wika said it would reevaluate its working system to make sure it did not happen again.

Puspita added that the company would try another method, such as a crawler crane, to hold a lifting test after considering the risks in the area.

Wika said the accident would not disrupt the development project and promised to complete it in August.

The LRT construction is set to run in two phases. The first phase will cover a track from Bogor, West Java, to Jakarta spanning 43.3 kilometers across Cibubur-Cawang, Bekasi Timur-Cawang and Cawang-Dukuh Atas.

This initial phase is expected to be completed in 2019.

The second phase will go through a 38.5 km-long track from Cibubur-Bogor, Dukuh Atas-Palmerah-Senayan to Palmerah-Grogol.

To prepare for the Asian Games, the city will prioritize the construction of 5.8 km of the line stretching from Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta to the velodrome in East Jakarta.

The LRT will have six stations: the LRT depot, Britama arena sports mall, the velodrome and boulevard in Kelapa Gading and Pulomas equestrian facility in East Jakarta.

The city is set to continue the construction of the LRT by making a 24 km-loop line from Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta to Dukuh Atas in Central Jakarta with nine lines.

Some areas in Cawang, Cikoko, Pancoran, Kuningan, Dukuh Atas, Palmerah and Senayan would be affected by this project.