Mosque tower collapses, kills four in N. Jakara<\/p>\n
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
At least four construction workers were killed and 21 others
\nseriously injured when a 50-meter tower of Baiturrahman Mosque on
\nJl. Haji Murtadho in Tugu Utara, Koja, North Jakarta collapsed on
\nWednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The four victims were Wartam, Wardoyo, Suripto and one more
\nwho is still being identified. Their bodies were sent to Cipto
\nMangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta, while seven
\ninjured workers were taken to nearby Koja hospital and others to
\nTugu Pelabuhan hospital.<\/p>\n
\"We are still evacuating the victims as we fear that there are
\nstill many more workers injured in the accident,\" Koja Police
\nsubprecinct chief Comr. Eko Syaputro said.<\/p>\n
Using heavy duty trucks, officers from the Jakarta Police and
\nJakarta Fire Department removed the debris in order to search for
\nother survivors.<\/p>\n
There were a total of 35 workers at the site when the tower
\ncollapsed. Eleven of them were still in the tower when it went
\ndown.<\/p>\n
Workers were renovating the Baiturrahman Mosque, which belongs
\nto the Nurul Hidayah Al-Bahar Foundation, also located on Jl.
\nHaji Murtadho in Tugu Utara, Koja, North Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Rescue workers found it difficult to evacuate the victims as
\nthe vast mosque is situated on a narrow street in a densely
\npopulated area.<\/p>\n
The incident attracted a huge crowd from the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Dede Suryana said police
\nwere quizzing a foreman named Warno and several eyewitnesses.<\/p>\n
\"If necessary, we will summon members of the foundation that
\nowns the mosque for questioning,\" Dede was quoted as saying by
\nDetik.com.<\/p>\n
The foundation also owns an orphanage and Islamic playgroup
\nTitipan Illahi, which are all situated in the same compound.<\/p>\n
Police sense something untoward in the renovation of the tower
\nsince the North Jakarta municipality had issued an instruction to
\nsuspend the renovation project on Jan. 9 this year as the
\nfoundation had not obtained a building permit for the 6,000-
\nsquare-meter mosque.<\/p>\n
The foundation seemed to have ignored it and gone ahead with
\nthe renovation.<\/p>\n
North Jakarta Mayor Effendy Anas said that the foundation was
\nin a legal tussle over the ownership of the land with city-run PT
\nTaman Impian Jaya Ancol that runs the Ancol Dreamland Park.<\/p>\n
\"The court and high court have favored the foundation in the
\nownership of the land. However, the legal process is still
\ndragging on as PT TIJA has appealed,\" Effendy said.<\/p>\n
He said his administration would form an independent team to
\nseek the information needed for police investigators to uncover
\nthe cause of the fatal accident.<\/p>",
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