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Police probe cause of collapsed building in Medan
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Officials from the National Search and Rescue Agency search for victims in the rubble of a collapsed building in Medan on Monday. (JP/Apriadi Gunawan)
T
he Medan Police are investigating what caused a building, which housed a popular café, to collapse in Medan, North Sumatra, on Monday.
Rescuers are scouring the building for people possibly trapped under the debris.
Medan Police chief Sr. Comr. Dadang Hartanto said investigators were currently focusing on looking at the cause of the collapse. The police have questioned a number of people as witnesses, including the building’s owner and construction workers, who were working on the building when the incident occurred.
“We have yet to confirm whether the collapse was caused by a construction glitch. The investigation is ongoing,” Dadang told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
The four-story building collapsed on Monday evening. It was located right across from the popular Ring Road City Walk shopping mall and was home to the Big White Coffee café as well as the Venezia family massage parlor.
Bayu, a foreman who was overseeing construction on the site, said the building was undergoing renovation and had been closed to visitors for the past two days.
The café was a popular hangout spot for young locals. It was initially a two-story building but the proprietors wanted to add three more floors to accommodate more visitors. Workers were busy constructing the fourth floor when the building collapsed.
Dadang added that the police had asked the search and rescue team to look for people possibly trapped under the debris, despite the building’s owner saying that it was empty when it collapsed.
“The rescue team is going to use heavy machinery to look for trapped people,” he said.
On Monday night, authorities rescued a teenager named Febri Manurung, 16, who sustained injuries to his back after debris struck his house, which is located next to the building.
He is currently receiving treatment at a local hospital. (kuk).
