Probe into collapse

INJURIES: SCORES HURT IN WALKWAY ACCIDENT AT JAKARTA STOCK EXCHANGE Dramatic CCTV footage shows visiting students plunge as floor gives way.

Indonesian investigators were sifting through the rubble at Jakarta’s stock exchange complex yesterday as they looked for clues to what caused a walkway collapse that left scores injured, including dozens of students.

A mezzanine floor at the tower in the sprawling city’s business district crashed to the ground shortly before lunchtime on Monday, injuring 73 people, police said. There were no deaths.

Dramatic CCTV footage showed a group of about 40 visiting students on a balcony section plunge as the floor gave way with a cascade of glass, metal and other material showering the ground floor where several others were walking.

National police spokesperson Setyo Wasisto said the investigation team was hoping to gather crucial evidence by the end of yesterday, though the results of the probe would not be known for several weeks.

Investigators will look at building material quality and the site’s structural integrity, said Mushanif Mukti, a top official at the Association of Construction Safety and Health Experts.

“It needs to be examined to see whether it is structural fatigue or it’s a weight issue,” he said.

Jakarta’s governor, Anies Baswedan, has ordered an inspection of the complex, which was last checked in May last year.

Officials have described the collapse as an accident and not the result of an explosion – the tower was bombed by Islamist militants in 2000.

“If [investigators] are done today, everything can be cleaned up and the ... scene can be reopened,” Wasisto said.

“Some tenants are a bit cautious, even though building management said it’s safe.

They are also going to check the other mezzanine floor.”

Most of the injuries were broken bones, Wasisto said, adding that none was life-threatening.

“We have questioned a few witnesses ... [including] security officers, students, friends of those injured and employees who work there. It’s ongoing,” he said.

A dozen people have so far been released from the hospital.

Enforcement of Indonesian safety standards can be spotty.

In October, a deadly blaze ripped through a fireworks factory on the outskirts of Jakarta, killing 48 workers.

It was one of the country’s worst industrial accidents in recent memory.

Police said the fire was caused by sparks from welding equipment.

At the exchange, the damaged area remained closed off yesterday but trading carried on as usual. – AFP