One Dead Found in Rubble of Grand Polonia House Explosion

A body has been recovered from the rubble of a house explosion at the Grand Polonia housing complex in Medan, North Sumatra. The victim was found deceased during a search and rescue operation in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Hery Marantika, Head of the Medan Search and Rescue Office, stated the body was located at approximately 02:20 WIB beneath the collapsed building material. The remains have been transported to Bhayangkara Hospital for identification.

Search and rescue teams are continuing operations to locate three other individuals still reported missing and believed to be trapped under the debris. The joint SAR team is racing against time, utilising urban search and rescue equipment, including thermal imaging drones and extrication tools, to find the remaining victims.

The explosion occurred on Monday afternoon at house number 3B in the Grand Polonia complex. The blast caused the three-storey building to suffer severe structural damage, with most of the structure collapsing. Four people survived the incident, including a two-year-old child named Jeavelin, a driver, and a courier.

While the exact cause of the incident remains under investigation by police and relevant authorities, preliminary findings suggest a gas leak from an underground pipeline network in the area may have triggered the explosion.