Banyumas Regent: Investigation into VIP Tribune Collapse Involves All Parties
“Events like this are suspended for now until a decision comes from Polresta and IMI.”
Purwokerto (ANTARA) - Banyumas Regent Sadewo Tri Lastiono said the investigation into the collapse of the VIP grandstand at the Drift Speed Fest at the Satria Sports Complex in Purwokerto, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, on Sunday, will involve all parties connected with the organisation of the event.
“Firstly, this is of course an incident nobody wanted. The event ran safely for several days, but on the final day an incident like this occurred,” he said at a press conference in Purwokerto on Sunday evening.
He said the investigation is currently being carried out by the police, who are examining various parties, from the event organiser (EO) and vendors to the organising committee and the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI), to determine the exact cause of the grandstand collapse.
He, together with the organisers and IMI, will therefore visit the victims being treated at RST Wijayakusuma Hospital, Elisabeth Hospital and the Orthopaedic Hospital.
In addition to caring for the victims, the Banyumas Regency Government will set up an information centre (command centre) and appoint a single information officer (PIC) to convey developments in the handling of the incident in a centralised manner.
“We will set up a command centre, then there will be one PIC who will provide explanations so that the news is not biased. On social media it will certainly become very biased. Nobody wanted this to happen,” he explained.
He admitted that he had previously encouraged the staging of various national and regional events in Banyumas as a way of boosting activity in the region.
However, he said, the collapse of the VIP grandstand would serve as an evaluation point for all parties.
He said similar events will be suspended temporarily until the investigation is completed and decisions are issued by the police and IMI.
“I did want there to be an event every month in Banyumas. But hopefully an incident like this will never happen again. Events like this I am suspending for now until there is a decision from Polresta and IMI,” he said.
According to him, the police have summoned the ticketing party, the EO, vendors, the organising committee and IMI to establish the number of spectators on the VIP grandstand, its capacity, and the technical aspects of the construction used.
The crime scene has also been processed by the police to uncover the cause of the collapse.
When asked who is responsible for the victims, he stressed that primary responsibility lies with the organiser and the committee.
Nevertheless, the Banyumas Regency Government will also provide assistance, as the event took place at a facility owned by the regional government.
“Those responsible are of course the EO and the committee. But the regional government will also share responsibility, even though the regional government only provided the venue,” said the Regent.
The VIP grandstand collapsed while the committee was distributing merchandise to spectators, minutes after the Drift Speed Fest was opened by the Banyumas Regent on Sunday afternoon.
As a result of the incident, dozens of spectators on the VIP grandstand fell, some of them sustaining injuries, requiring their evacuation to several hospitals using dozens of ambulances.