Thorough Investigation Needed on Mezzanine Collapse in IDX Building
Many parties have urged that a thorough investigation be done on the incident, which resulted in 72 people injured.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Fortunately, there were no lives lost in the incident of the collapse of the first floor mezzanine in Tower II of the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) building in Jakarta on Monday (15/1), but many parties have urged that a thorough investigation be done on the incident, which resulted in 72 people injured.
A building construction expert from the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), Wayan Sangara, said the collapse of the mezzanine must be investigated further to identify the cause of incident. “Is it because of the activities around it or other causes?” asked Wayan, who is also chairman of the Earthquake Engineering Experts of Indonesia.
He suggested the structural failure might have been caused by its design and construction. “The mezzanine in this building has been there for a long time and there had not been any problems, and then it suddenly fails. For that, an audit from an independent expert is needed,” Wayan said.
Yesterday, at around 12:00 p.m. the mezzanine collapsed as dozens of economics students from Bina Darma University in Palembang had gathered in a small area, video footage showed.
According to the latest data, 72 people suffered minor and moderate injuries and shock. They were taken to four hospitals, namely AL Mintoharjo Hospital, MRCC Siloam Hospital, Jakarta Hospital and Pusat Pertamina Hospital (RSPP). RSPP business management head Agus W. Susetyo said the hospital had treated five of the victims, with two having already been released.
Among the victims is a stock exchange employee, who is four months\' pregnant. “The womb is contracting, so she is receiving treatment in the hospital first,” Agus said.
Anto Prabowo, the deputy commissioner for strategic and logistics management at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), said OJK had coordinated with IDX directors. They have been asked to quickly conduct an investigation to find the cause of the accident.
“Transactions are going as normal. There are no power or network disruptions,” he said. At the end of the day on Monday, the Indonesian Composite Index closed at 6,382.195, up by 0.19 percent. Since the start of the year, the index has increased by 0.42 percent.
Separately, the director general for construction at the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, Syarif Burhanuddin, said the incident was due to structural failure, not construction-related issues. However, the government has formed a team of expert assessors to investigate the case further.
Indonesian Contractors Association (AKI) secretary-general Joseph Pangalila said regional administrations had a responsibility to conduct assessments to guarantee the safety of buildings, adding that if an incident or structural failure occurred, there needed to be an authoritative agency to evaluate it.
Regarding the matter, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has asked his team to immediately perform an audit on the IDX building to ensure that all the procedures have been carried out for the sake of the safety of building users.
Back in operation
IDX executive director Tito Sulistio stressed that stock trade at the building would go on as normal. Trade activity would be disrupted if there were problems with, among other things, the trade exchange and its infrastructure. “The building management has to make sure there are no disruptions to the transactions tomorrow [Tuesday],” he said.
A representative for IDX building management, Farida Riyadi, has ensured that on Tuesday, Tower I of the building would operate as normal. The status of Tower II, however, could not yet be confirmed because they were still waiting for a team from the National Police.
Yesterday, National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said the hallway collapse was not caused by explosives or a bomb and that the cause was still being investigated.
Farida explained that Tower I was built in 1994, while Tower II was built in 1997. Since they were built, there had never been any renovations on either of the two towers, and regular checks are carried out by contractors. “The last check was in May 2017,” she said.
Ringing alarm
Interviewed on location, some employees at the building had initially heard the sound of an alarm bell. They then rushed out of the building through the elevator and emergency exit.
They were shocked to see that the mezzanine of Tower II had collapsed, particularly given the walkway was frequented by employees.
Sandra, an employee on the 23rd floor, said the alarm had rung for a while. Other employees heard a boom. “I thought the elevator had fallen. Some employees complained of some elevators not operating, but I managed to get down in one that was still functioning,” she said.
When she reached the ground floor, Sandra and her friend Clarisa, were shocked to find flowing water flooding the area, with the path toward the exit blocked by debris of the collapsed floor.