Bomb blast kills one, injures four
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): A woman was killed and four others injured here on Sunday afternoon when a bomb exploded near an intersection on Jl. Syailendra.
Details of the incident remain sketchy, but several witnesses claim the bomb was hurled from a passing motorcycle into a pedicab.
However, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf said in Jakarta the explosive device, believed to be a homemade bomb with a timer, was most likely placed on top of the pedicab sometime before it went off.
"This happened near an Indonesian Protestant Church (GKPI) and the Indonesian Communion of Churches (PGI). One woman, Hotinda Sihite, 22, died. She suffered severe head injuries since she was only five meters from the blast site," Saleh told The Jakarta Post.
Sources in Medan identified the injured as teenagers Melda Borumanik and Cacah Putri, both students at Herna Nursing School Hospital, K. Hutabarat and another teenage girl, F. Tina.
They are currently being treated at Herna Hospital, located just a few meters away from where the explosion occurred.
The injuries are said to have been caused by nails which are believed to have been inside the explosive device.
Saleh said police were questioning three people in connection with the blast, but he refused to provide any further details.
He added that the explosion occurred as a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Indonesian Council of Churches (GKI) was being held at Pardede Hall on Jl. Syailendra, just 20 meters away from the blast site.
Despite the explosion the ceremony continued as scheduled. The chairman of the ceremony's organizing committee, JA Ferdinandus, said there was no reason for a postponement.
"We believed that Pardede Hall was safe after being searched by security officers," he said.
The explosion shattered windows in the hall and in several other buildings located some 75 meters from the blast site.
Medan Police chief Insp. Gen. Hotman Siagian called on Christians not to be provoked by the incident, and hinted at the possibility that the bombing was the work of people seeking to trigger sectarian violence in the territory.
"If you're asking about the blast, it's similar to the one which occurred on Jl. Padang Bulan on May 28 this year," he said.
Saleh was referring to an explosion which rocked a GKPI church on May 28, injuring at least 47 people attending Sunday service.
The officer said the blast at the church was believed to have been caused by a homemade bomb.
Three other bombs were planted in two churches in Medan last May, but they failed to explode, while an explosion destroyed a restaurant on Jl. Pemuda, injuring three pedestrians.
In August, two separate bomb blasts occurred in the area near Jl. Bahagia in Medan Tenggara district. (04/39/ylt/lup)