Terra Drone Boss Fails to Provide Fire Detection Sensors and APAR Equipment, Resulting in 22 Employee Deaths

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The President Director of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, Michael Wisnu Wardhana, failed to fulfil his obligations to prevent, reduce, and extinguish a fire in the company’s office building on 9 December 2025. As a result, the fire in the Terra Drone office building caused 22 people to die. Based on the indictment file obtained by Kompas.com on Thursday (2/4/2026), Michael Wisnu did not provide fire detection sensors, did not provide smoke detection sensors, did not provide emergency stairs and evacuation route signs, did not organise regular fire prevention drills and rehearsals, and did not provide adequate Lithium Fire Killer (AF31) portable fire extinguishers (APAR) in the office building. “The windows in the building could not be opened (permanently installed). There was only one main door, without any emergency doors or stairs,” the indictment stated, as quoted by Kompas.com on Thursday. Then the fire spread to Kiki Kuswati’s both legs, and the fire spread to several other drone batteries in the Inventory Room, causing the fire to grow larger. After that, Kiki Kuswati and Agatha Fitria Putri immediately ran out of the Inventory Room towards outside the Terra Drone Office Building to save themselves and shouted for help. Other employees who heard the shouts tried to find APAR to extinguish the fire but failed to find APAR on the first and second floors. “Meanwhile, witness Reza Sorfi Hanafi managed to find a Dry Chemical Powder-type APAR on the fifth floor. After that, witness Reza Sorfi Hanafi brought the APAR to the first floor and handed it to witness Egi Ramadhan, then witness Egi Ramadhan tried to extinguish the fire,” it said. “Because the fire did not go out, witness Egi Ramadhan and witness Reza Sorfi Hanafi went out of the Terra Drone Office Building to save themselves,” it said. After that, several fire engine units arrived and officers tried to evacuate people inside the Terra Drone Office Building. However, the evacuation process was hindered by smoke spread access and stair movement. As a result, 22 Terra Drone employees who could not be evacuated died. For his actions, Michael Wisnu is charged with violating Article 474 paragraph (3) of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code (KUHP). The article regulates penalties for negligence causing serious injury with a maximum prison sentence of five years or a maximum fine of Rp500,000,000.