Strong blast stuns Mampang residents<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Only four days after the blast at Slipi flyover,
\nWest Jakarta, an explosive device exploded on Sunday evening
\nunder the Mampang Prapatan flyover, South Jakarta, injuring at
\nleast two people.<\/p>\n
Located near the traffic lights under the Mampang Prapatan
\nflyover, the blast occurred near a gas station and a little over
\n300 meters from the Mampang Prapatan Police station.<\/p>\n
No fatalities were reported, but two persons, both women,
\nsuffered light injuries. The two, who were reportedly crossing
\nthe street when the blast occurred, were sent to Fatmawati
\nHospital in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The blast also caused the windows of a passing Gamya taxi as
\nwell as the windows of a passing Kijang van to shatter.<\/p>\n
The driver of the taxi, Syaiful Hendrik, 31, a resident of
\nMeryung in Limo, Depok, miraculously escaped injury. He was then
\nquestioned by the police as a witness.<\/p>\n
The van, the four tires of which were also punctured by the
\nblast, was carrying eight people, including two boys aged four
\nand 11, all of whom escaped injuries.<\/p>\n
The van belonged to Johnny Abral Malik, 47, a staff member at
\nthe Ministry of Agriculture's human resources development
\ndivision.<\/p>\n
\"I saw a package flying in front of us ... falling, the sound
\nwas extraordinarily loud. We all covered our ears,\" said Mieke,
\n25, a relative of Johnny who was in the van, at the Mampang
\npolice station.<\/p>\n
\"We all screamed and the next second, we heard the van's
\nwindows shatter. We were just so terrified.\"<\/p>\n
Police detectives questioned at least 15 witnesses, while bomb
\nsquad officers scoured the area.<\/p>\n
Sunday's explosive devise which caused the blast at 6:50 p.m.
\nhit the asphalt under the flyover, causing chunks of the asphalt
\nto ricochet and hit the windows of a passing Kijang van and taxi.<\/p>\n
A city police detective said that the blast was caused by a
\nhigh powered explosive, possibly TNT (trinitrotoluene). Another
\npolice source, however, said that the blast was caused by a hand
\ngrenade.<\/p>\n
South Jakarta Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. F.F.J. Mirah
\nsuspected that the explosion was part of a campaign to create
\nchaos in the capital ahead of the convening of the special
\nsession of the People's Consultative Assembly.<\/p>\n
\"This is getting to be a habit. All of this is happening just
\ndays before the special session. I can't stand this,\" Mirah, who
\nwas surveying the crime scene in his shorts, told The Jakarta
\nPost at the site of the explosion.<\/p>\n
The Assembly is slated to convene the special session on
\nAugust 1, that will likely lead to the impeachment of President
\nAbdururahman Wahid.<\/p>\n
Sunday's explosion came only four days after an explosive
\ndevice blasted under the Slipi flyover in West Jakarta on July
\n11. The blast injured 14 people and one victim eventually died as
\na result of his injuries.<\/p>\n
In the July 11 blast, police believe that the explosive device
\nwas thrown by people from a truck crossing the Slipi flyover.
\nThis however, was not the case in Sunday's blast.<\/p>\n
\"We believe someone just passed the traffic light under the
\nMampang Prapatan flyover, threw the bomb package and escaped.
\nThere were no witnesses that saw anyone.<\/p>\n
\"It (package) couldn't have been thrown from the flyover. The
\nposition of the damaged asphalt caused by the blast does not
\nmatch the assumption that something was thrown from the flyover,\"
\nMirah said. (ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/strong-blast-stuns-mampang-residents-1447893297",
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