Explosion rocks Kelapa Gading mall, frightens shoppers
Explosion rocks Kelapa Gading mall, frightens shoppers
JAKARTA (JP): Dozens of shoppers were startled by an explosion
in the parking lot of Kelapa Gading shopping center in North
Jakarta on Tuesday evening.
As of Wednesday, police said they still had no idea about what
caused the explosion.
No fatalities were recorded but the blast shattered windows of
two empty public minivans on the site.
According to North Jakarta Police detectives chief Maj. Heru
Winarko, the explosion occurred at about 8 p.m., a few hours
before the shopping center closed.
Police were alerted and came to investigate the area, he said.
"We found nothing. We also called the National Police Gegana
bomb squad for a backup. But I don't know if they found anything
at the site," officer Heru said.
A number of witnesses, including the drivers of the minivans,
were questioned but Heru said the police had no definite clues
about who could have been responsible for planting explosives.
Heru quoted witnesses as saying they saw thick smoke coming
from bushes under a garden light at the parking lot shortly after
the blast.
The light reportedly was not damaged at all and the smoke did
not spread.
"If the explosion came from a flammable chemical substance
then many people would have smelled a strange odor after the
explosion. But no one told us this was so," Heru said.
A similar incident occurred at a vacant lot between city
police headquarters and the Jakarta Stock Exchange on Jl.
Sudirman, Central Jakarta, on Dec. 30.
As in the Kelapa Gading case, no official statement was made
by police about the mysterious blast on one of Jakarta's main
business areas.
A police source however disclosed that the blast was suspected
to have been caused by a chemical substance that was seized as
evidence by police.
"Not all police know how such chemicals work and that if they
just throw the compound into the air, certain chemicals will
explode immediately," the source said on Wednesday.
He however declined to speculate on the blast in Kelapa
Gading, saying that an investigation was still underway. (emf)