Cimanggis Market Begins Clean-up after Blast Kills Two
Tangerang Selatan (ANTARA) — Police have begun cleaning the Cimanggis Market area in Ciputat, South Tangerang, Banten, following a blast that killed two people and injured 11, with the aim of restoring trading activity in the community.
Ciputat Timur Police Chief Commissioner Bambang Askar Sodiq said in Tangerang on Thursday that the clean-up began after the National Police Criminal Investigation Agency’s Forensic Laboratory Centre (Puslabfor) and the Jakarta Metro Police’s General Criminal Investigation Directorate had completed their crime-scene examination.
“Teams from the National Police Forensic Laboratory Centre and the Jakarta Metro Police’s General Criminal Investigation Directorate have finished examining the scene. In accordance with the South Tangerang Police Chief’s instructions, the directly affected area is being cleaned and repaired so that it can soon be used again for trading,” he said.
Bambang said the measures were intended to speed up the recovery of residents’ economic activity, which had been disrupted by Wednesday’s (14 October) blast.
He said Cimanggis Market was one of the community’s trading centres and operated until the early hours of the morning. He hoped the clean-up and repairs to the affected area could be completed quickly so traders could resume their businesses.
Although the clean-up has begun, Bambang said the investigation into the cause of the blast was continuing.
“Further handling of the case and the legal evidence-gathering process have been fully handed over to the South Tangerang Police Criminal Investigation Unit to establish the exact cause of the incident,” he said.
Earlier, Puslabfor and the Jakarta Metro Police’s General Criminal Investigation Directorate seized 18 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras from several locations around the blast site.
The CCTV footage will be examined to establish what happened before the blast, including whether it may have been deliberate.
“We will review it to find out what was happening at the site of the blast, including whether it was deliberate or accidental,” he said.
Meanwhile, AKBP Jakaria Sembiring, head of the Ballistics and Forensic Metallurgy Division at Puslabfor, said officers had found several components at the scene.
These included a 50-kilogram ethylene gas cylinder, a section of gas delivery hose and a dynamo.
Jakaria said officers would also inspect the electrical installation and the condition of the dynamo to determine whether any damage could have caused a spark.
As of Thursday (15 October), police had recorded 13 casualties from the blast: two people had died and 11 remained under treatment at three hospitals.
Police have yet to determine the exact cause of the blast, as the investigation and examination of evidence are ongoing.