Illegal advertisements blamed for bridge collapse in Pasar Minggu that killed three

A pedestrian bridge in Pasar Minggu collapsed Saturday afternoon during a heavy rainstorm, one of many in Jakarta over the past few days.

Sadly, 11 people were injured when the bridge collapsed that afternoon. Eight of them are still under medical care while the other three, identified as Depok citizens Lilis Pancawati, Sri Hartati and her granddaughter Aisyah Zahra Ramadhan, all passed away.

Aisyah, who had just turned 8 the day before, had just gone to see her mother, Oktavia, who was staying in a shelter for domestic helpers in Pasar Minggu. She was about to depart to Taiwan to work there so she could earn enough money for her two children.

“Aisyah was so happy she could see her mother,” said Darso, Aisyah’s grandfather, as quoted by Tempo yesterday.

Darso, who also visited Oktavia, said he stayed behind while Sri, Aisyah and her brother Abiyyu made their way back to Depok first. They were headed to the Commuterline station, but rain soon fell and they took shelter near the pedestrian bridge.

Darso soon made his way to the station as well, but he was shocked to see that the pedestrian bridge had collapsed.

“I did not expect that my wife and grandchildren to be there,” he said.

Sri Hartati and Aisyah both passed away in hospital from the heavy injuries they sustained, while Abiyyu is reportedly in critical condition.

Meanwhile, the other deceased victim, Lilis Pancawati, was a 43-year-old woman who worked as a cashier at a restaurant in South Jakarta. Harrowingly, she was a single mother of three young children – the oldest of whom is still only in middle school and the other two still in primary school – after her husband died a year and a half ago.

Ahmad Busro, the chief of the neighborhood where Lilis lived in Depok, said neighbors remember Lilis as someone who was very dedicated in raising her children.

“She was a good person, no nonsense,” he said, as quoted by Warta Kota.

The government suspects that the bridge collapsed due to ad boards that were installed against regulations. Jakarta Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah said the ad boards were supposed to have been supported by their own structures instead of being installed on the bridge’s railings.

“With high wind pressure, the bridge’s railing structure [which supports the ad boards] could not sustain the large force from the pressure, which caused the bridge to collapse,” he said, as quoted by Tempo.

“It must be investigated as to who built and gave permission to install the ad boards.”



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