Poor police know-how leads to fireworks blast
Poor police know-how leads to fireworks blast
JAKARTA (JP): Inexperience and a lack of fireworks knowledge led to a huge explosion at the Bekasi police precinct on Tuesday, a spokesman for the City Police says.
"The police personnel properly treated the fireworks by dousing them with water upon confiscation but they forgot that certain chemical substances, used as the raw material for the fireworks, react violently with water, especially at high temperatures," Lt. Col. Bambang Haryoko said yesterday.
The mid-day blast on Tuesday was believed to have come from 20 kilograms of potash (potassium carbonate) and over 50 kilograms of fireworks rolls, papers and other supporting materials, which had been kept together since Saturday in a lot near the precinct.
According to Bambang, some precinct personnel poured water on the material in an attempt to cool them down on the hot day.
"All removal procedures were followed under the approval of the Bekasi police head (Lt. Col. Hari Pribadi)," Bambang said.
The blast injured eight police officers and burned five cars and two motorcycles.
Of the eight wounded officers, two were severely burned and are still under intensive care at the Kramat Jati police hospital in East Jakarta.
The two officers were identified as Capt. Marwan and 1st Sergeant Istiqomah, a policewoman.
The two officers were waiting in the parking lot waiting for their commanding officers when the fireworks exploded.
Witnesses said that the deafening blast caused all police personnel near the site to drop to the ground.
"Soon after the blast, witnesses saw Marwan come out from the area with parts of his trousers and shirt torn off like a Zombie," Bambang said.
The explosion also destroyed iron gates, trees and windows surrounding the precinct building and also some neighboring houses.
According to a senior bomb squad member, Lt. Col. SY Wenas, potash can only be stored at room temperature.
"It's very risky and dangerous to store them like we did in an hot, open space. They will automatically explode violently under such circumstances," said Wenas, who is also chief of the South Jakarta police precinct.
The fireworks were seized several days ago by the Bekasi police from a group of five suspected dealers at the nearby Kranji village.
Producing, selling and playing with fireworks is prohibited in Indonesia.
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Dibyo Widodo visited the explosion site early in the morning yesterday to study the cause of the blast.
"We'll sternly punish any of my personnel that did not observe regulations in taking care of the fireworks," he said. "But, I believe that they did follow the standard procedures," he added.
"It was just caused by the sun," Dibyo said. "It was a natural factor." (12/bsr)