Police not on the ball, 'bomb' explode
Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang
Fifteen Jakarta Police bomb squad members armed with SS-1 and AK- 74 rifles boarded a Boeing 747-400 Garuda Indonesia airplane at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after a bomb threat forced the plane to make an emergency landing.
Four of the officers had bomb detectors. They located a bomb in a toilet, but had been warned of another bomb on board. The clock was ticking, but the police could not find anything, until suddenly ... "Boom!" The other bomb, on seat No. 11, exploded.
None of the officers were injured in the explosion.
The scene in the airport's "crisis area" on Wednesday was in fact a simulation of a terror attack designed by airport management PT Angkasa Pura II, together with the city police, national flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia and Garda Kesehatan medical workers.
Airport Police chief Sr. Comr. Firman Shantyabudi said the bomb squad were not very knowledgeable about aircraft, which made detecting bombs on planes extremely difficult.
"It is a weakness that the National Police must continue to evaluate," he said, adding that several officers had never been on a plane in their lives.
Firman said the police must prepare themselves, since terrorists are always changing the type of places they target.
Recently, on Sept. 9, a bomb exploded outside the Australian Embassy on Jl. Rasuna Said in Kuningan, South Jakarta, killing 10 people and wounding over 180 others.
An explosion at the airport on April 27, 2003, injured 11 people, including a family of three.
An earlier stage of the simulation saw another bomb placed in the rear part of the aircraft explode. The plane had been heading toward Achmad Yani airport in Semarang, when the "bomb threat call" was received by an airport officer.
Four fire trucks were deployed to put out the fire and an inflatable ramp was installed at the emergency exit door.
The pilot opened the emergency door and passengers slid down the ramp, one by one. A medical team evacuated the passengers. Those suffering injuries were taken to the nearest hospital.