Explosions scare Yogya Plaza's visitors

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

Two packages exploded in turn on Thursday at around 12:20 p.m. inside a concrete community dump located in front of Top Metro shop in Yogya Plaza on Jl. Soleh Iskandar, Tanah Sareal, Bogor municipality.

The blasts caused panic among visitors, who thought it was a bomb blast.

No fatalities or injuries were reported in the incident. The explosion only cracked the concrete walls of the dump.

Similar packages were also found in a dump in front of Hero Supermarket on Jl. Pajajartan, Bogor, by a scavenger. She immediately reported her finding to a supermarket security guard.

East Bogor Police officers contacted the bomb squad which later exploded the package at 6:15 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

Bogor Police deputy chief Comr. Agus Nugraha confirmed that the explosions on Jl. Soleh Iskandar were caused by firecrackers wrapped in black plastic bags. The first explosion occurred at 12:20 p.m. while the second took place a few minutes later.

"We are tracking down a suspect based on information from several eyewitnesses at the scene," Agus told reporters.

Eyewitness Indri, whose office is near the site of the explosions, said that she saw an unidentified man clad in a dark T-shirt carrying plastic bags and throwing them into the dump not long before the explosion.

Another eyewitness, Samin, a security guard, said he discovered pieces of paper and two batteries at the dump right after the explosion.

Officers from the National Police forensics laboratory, who cordoned off the area, also discovered wires and a timer at the scene.

The blasts scared away visitors at the shopping center.

"I'm going home, I am not going to stay around to shop. I thought it was a bomb blast," said Minah, a visiting resident of Cimanggu, Bogor.

The police said that it was the first explosion in Bogor city, although police had experienced hoaxes in the past two years.