Banyumas Regent: Investigation into VIP Tribune Collapse Involves All Parties

Banyumas Regent Sadewo Tri Lastiono has stated that the investigation into the collapse of a VIP tribune at the Drift Speed Fest at the Satria Sports Arena in Purwokerto, Banyumas Regency, Central Java, on Sunday, will involve all parties associated with the event’s organisation. “Firstly, this is an incident that no party wanted. The event ran safely for several days, but on the final day, an incident like this occurred,” he said during a press conference in Purwokerto on Sunday afternoon. He explained that the investigation is currently being conducted by the police, who are examining various parties, from the event organiser (EO), vendors, and the organising committee, to the Indonesian Motor Association (IMI), to determine the exact cause of the VIP tribune’s collapse. Consequently, he, along with the organising committee and IMI, will visit the victims being treated at Wijayakusuma Hospital, Elisabeth Hospital, and the Orthopaedic Hospital. In addition to handling the victims, the Banyumas Regency Government will establish a command centre and appoint a single person in charge of information to deliver updates on the handling of the incident centrally. “We will create a command centre, and then there will be one PIC who will explain so that the information is not biased. This will definitely be biased on social media later. Nobody wanted this incident to happen,” he explained. He admitted that he had previously encouraged the organisation of various national and regional scale events in Banyumas as an effort to boost local activity. However, he said the collapse of the VIP tribune serves as an evaluation point for all parties. He stated that similar events are temporarily halted until the investigation process is complete and a decision is made by the police and IMI. “I do want there to be an event every month in Banyumas. But hopefully, an incident like this will not happen again. I am stopping events like this for now until there is a decision from the Purwokerto Police and IMI,” he said. According to him, the police have summoned the ticketing party, the EO, vendors, the committee, and IMI to ascertain the number of spectators in the VIP tribune, its capacity, and the technical aspects of the construction used. A crime scene investigation has also been conducted by the police to uncover the cause of the collapse. When asked about the party responsible for the victims, he stressed that the primary responsibility lies with the organiser and the committee. Nevertheless, the Banyumas Regency Government will also provide assistance because the activity took place in a local government-owned facility. “The responsible parties are certainly the EO and the committee. But the regional government will also take responsibility, even though the regional government was only the venue provider,” the Regent said. The VIP tribune collapse occurred while the committee was distributing merchandise to spectators a few minutes after the Drift Speed Fest event was opened by the Banyumas Regent on Sunday afternoon. As a result of the incident, dozens of spectators on the VIP tribune fell, and some of them sustained injuries, requiring evacuation to several hospitals using dozens of ambulances.