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Manpower Ministry investigates Depok mall blast
The ministry has sent a labor inspection team from its occupational health and safety (OHS) division to investigate a recent explosion at the Margo City shopping center.
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A freight elevator at the Margo City shopping mall in Depok fell from the third floor on Aug. 21, following an explosion thought to have been caused by a gas leak. (Depok Fire Department/via kompas.com)
T
he Manpower Ministry has opened an investigation to determine whether adequate protections were in place at the Margo City shopping center in Depok, West Java, after an explosion killed one person and injured 10 others on Saturday.
The ministry sent a labor inspection team from its occupational health and safety (OHS) division to investigate the incident, said Yuli Adiratna, the ministry’s director for labor norms inspection, on Monday.
The OHS team, he added, would help investigate the cause of the sudden blast, which ripped open part of the ceiling on the first floor of the mall and is thought to have caused a freight elevator to fall.
The team will also check the mall’s infrastructure and related documentation while the Depok Police investigate a recent discovery that a gas leak from a distribution line supplying one of the mall’s tenants may have caused the explosion.
“[The gas leak] was close to [...] the electrical circuit box, so it may have caused a spark or explosion,” Yuli told The Jakarta Post, noting that investigations were still ongoing.
“But for sure, the team is with the police in the field to determine the main cause of the incident.”
As of Sunday night, the police had questioned 12 witnesses, including mall visitors, employees and the management.
