Investigation continues as fire victims identified<\/p>\n
Yuli Trisuwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung<\/p>\n
Police have found nothing significant in their investigation
\nof the fire that razed Perdana Wisata Hotel here on Monday,
\nexcept the identity of two women who were among the casualties.<\/p>\n
Greater Bandung Police chief Sr. Supt. Hendra Sukmana said on
\nTuesday the women were identified as Leni Herlina Atmaja, 37, and
\nUun alias Yuki, 30, both Bandung residents.<\/p>\n
Hendra said the bodies of the two women had been claimed by
\ntheir families.<\/p>\n
He said police had found it difficult to identify the women
\nbecause they were not registered as hotel guests, although they
\nwere staying in a room on the fourth floor when the fire took
\nplace.<\/p>\n
\"They were both widows with children and lived in Bandung,\"
\nHendra said.<\/p>\n
Firefighters discovered the women already dead, most likely
\ndue to suffocation as no burns were found on their bodies.
\nEarlier reports said the two were Korean nationals.<\/p>\n
The other fatality was Spanish policeman Miguel Mancilla, who
\nwas on leave after his tour of duty at the United Nations
\nTransitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) had expired.<\/p>\n
\"We are still waiting for the Spanish Embassy to take the body
\nof Mancilla,\" Hendra said.<\/p>\n
Quoting hotel employees, Hendra said Mancilla checked in on
\nMay 5, along with four other UNTAET servicemen.<\/p>\n
One of Mancilla's colleagues, Ahmed Helmi of Egypt, said he
\nand other friends had knocked on the door of Mancilla's room on
\nthe fifth floor to notify him of the fire. They left the room
\nafter Mancilla gave no response.<\/p>\n
Hendra said Mancilla's body was found dead lying outside his
\nroom, most probably due to suffocation after inhaling too much
\nsmoke.<\/p>\n
\"He could have died due to lack of oxygen before he was able
\nto reach the emergency exit,\" Hendra said.<\/p>\n
Helmi said the small group of UNTAET veterans had originally
\narranged a tour to seven towns and tourist destinations in the
\ncountry, including Denpasar in Bali, Yogyakarta, Tanjung Puting
\nconservation forest in South Kalimantan and Lake Toba in North
\nSumatra.<\/p>\n
A team sent by the National Police Central Forensic Laboratory
\nhas so far been unable to discover the cause of the fire.
\nPreliminary reports said a short circuit in the lighting system
\nat a discotheque might have been the reason for the blaze.<\/p>\n
Hendra said five hotel employees had been questioned in
\nconnection with the fire, but nobody had been named a suspect at
\nthe conclusion of Tuesday's round of questioning.<\/p>\n
\"We are still collecting evidence to verify our preliminary
\nanalysis that negligence sparked the fire,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The hotel's owner, Budiman, denied allegations after the
\nquestioning that the hotel had not provided adequate firefighting
\nequipment that was always available.<\/p>\n
\"Suddenly there was a power blackout but we could not activate
\nthe diesel fuel generator for fear of the consequences,\" Budiman
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He claimed that the hotel's 300 employees had frequently
\nstaged simulated emergency evacuations such as would be necessary
\nduring a fire.<\/p>\n
The businessman estimated the losses at billions of rupiah,
\nnot only due to fire damage. A radio station belonging to
\nBudiman, also located in the building, was razed to the ground.<\/p>\n
The fire began at around 4 a.m. when about 100 guests were
\nstill asleep. It took the fire brigade 12 hours to put out the
\nfire.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/investigation-continues-as-fire-victims-identified-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}