Strong explosion rocks Ciputat residence

Strong explosion rocks Ciputat residence

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A strong explosion destroyed a house owned by an employee of
the Ministry of Defense, Nasiman, 47, in Cireundeu, Ciputat
district, Tangerang, on Sunday morning.

City police, however, quickly ruled out the possibility that
the explosion was caused by a bomb, saying they had found nothing
to suggest a bomb at the scene.

Two of Nasiman's three children were at home when the blast
occurred at around 9:30 a.m. None of them were injured in the
incident, the second in Tangerang in the past three months.

Last June, a powerful explosion went off at the home of Abu
Jibril in Pamulang, also in Tangerang, Banten.

Sunday's explosion could be heard two kilometers away from
Nasiman's house on Jl. Gunung Indah V.

"I was in Poncol subdistrict (some two kilometers away). I
heard a strong explosion. I just knew that it came from my
relative's house," said Maman, Nasiman's brother, as quoted by
Tempointeaktif.

Suhardi, whose house is next to Nasiman's, said that he was
thrown a few meters away from where he was standing when the
explosion occurred.

"The explosion was very strong," said Suhardi, another brother
of Nasiman's.

Jakarta Police Spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono emphasized that
the explosion had not been caused by a bomb or any type of
explosives.

According to Tjiptono, police forensics experts had examined
the location.

"We did not find any detonator or fuse at the scene.
Therefore, I can assure you that it was not a bomb," Tjiptono
said, adding that the bomb squad had also failed to find any
traces of explosives in the house.

But, Tjiptono was unable to specify exactly what had caused
the blast, saying that the police still needed more time to
investigate.

A police cordon was placed around the house.

Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar came to the scene at around
3:30 p.m. to get first-hand information on the blast.

"The police still don't have a clear picture of the incident,
but it can be definitely said that there were no traces of
explosives there," Ismet was quoted by Antara as saying.

South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Ghufron said on Sunday
afternoon that they were still trying to figure out the cause of
the explosion.

"We will continue investigating the cause of the explosion
tomorrow. It could have been caused by a gas leak as an
examination at the scene turned up no traces of explosives," he
said.