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.