“The joint team, comprising personnel from the Central Jakarta Police and Jakarta Police’s general crimes directorate, is set to work on the case,” Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Idham Azis said as quoted by kompas.com.

Mahesa Junaedi, 12, and Muhamad Rizki Syaputra, a 10-year-old with special needs, were reportedly killed on Saturday during an event that distributed free staple food packages, organized by Forum Untukmu Indonesia.

Instead of directly distributing the food, organizers offered vouchers that could be exchanged for 1 kilogram of rice, three instant noodle packages and 1 liter of cooking oil. A separate lunch voucher was to be exchanged for a rice box and bread.

Thousands of people showed up and began pushing for their share, causing several women to faint.

However, because no medical personnel were in attendance, they were carried to safety by other visitors but received no medical treatment.

Early reports from various news outlets said Mahesa and Rizki were crushed to death or died of dehydration and exhaustion.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono finally confirmed on Monday that the children were among the visitors who had fainted.

“But their [deaths] may not have been the result of the event,” he added. “They were rushed to Tarakan Hospital [in Central Jakarta] to receive medical treatment. They were severely dehydrated and had a high temperature.”

Mahesa reportedly ended up in Monas unplanned with his best friend Akmal. However, due to the overwhelming crowd, the two friends were separated.

Upon arriving home, Akmal told Mahesa’s parents about the large crowds, sending the latter’s father, Djunaidy, racing to Monas on his motorcycle.

He was later informed that a boy had been found unconscious in the parking lot at around 4 p.m. and rushed to Tarakan Hospital. 

Mahesa was pronounced dead at around 8 p.m. 

On Wednesday, Rizki’s mother Komariah, 49, reported the event’s organizing committee head, Dave Santosa, to the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Department for alleged negligence over her son’s death.

According to reports by tempo.co, Dave said the forum had met with the victims’ families and apologized for their loss.

“They said they considered the matter settled as it was an unfortunate accident,” he claimed.

Commenting on the incident, Deputy Jakarta Governor Sandiaga Uno said he had met with the event’s organizers, who expressed their condolences over the children’s deaths.

“I have also instructed related agencies to demand responsibility from [Forum Untukmu Indonesia],” he said on Wednesday.

He further explained that he expected the group to indemnify the city for any losses incurred during the event, and to clean up Monas and its facilities.

“We also want them to apologize for using the Jakarta administration logo [on their banners] and to cooperate with the legal process brought forth by both the police and the victims’ families,” the deputy governor said.

The organizers, he claimed, had initially requested a permit to hold a pasar murah (cheap market) event, but he told them that no financial transactions could be made in events at Monas.

“We also told them not to distribute staple foods, but our instructions fell on deaf ears.”

Around 350,000 people flocked to Monas for the event, Sandiaga said, causing gridlock in the surrounding area.

“We need to take note of this [incident] to make sure that it will never happen again,” he said.

Urban Analyst Yayat Supriatna also lamented the lack of coordination at an event that attracted thousands of people.

— Ivany Atina Arbi & Callistasia Anggun Wijaya contributed to this story.

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