Human error to blame for fire at Jakarta airport, says official

JAKARTA — A preliminary investigation showed that “human error” was likely the cause of a raging fire at Soekarno-Hatta airport’s international terminal outside Jakarta yesterday (July 5) morning, according to an official from state-owned airport operator Angkasa Pura (AP) II.

“Reports have indicated that negligence or human error was the cause of the fire,” AP II president director Budi Karya Samadi said today (July 6) as quoted by Detik.com. “We are now looking into what the workers were doing before the blaze.”

Mr Samadi added that AP II would punish anyone deemed responsible for the fire that started in the kitchen area of the JW Lounge in Terminal 2E, which started at around 5.50am.

Separately, the airport police have hinted that an electrical short circuit sparked the inferno that forced hundreds of passengers to be evacuated and disrupted some 30 domestic and international flights.

“According to eyewitnesses, the fire was caused by a short circuit. However, we are still waiting for the final results from the National Police’s forensics laboratory,” Adjutant Commander Sutrisna, a spokesman for the airport police, told reporters today.

The terminal, which remained shut as of today, is still under repair.

“We hope service at the terminal can be fully restored within the next two to three days,” Mr Samadi said. THE JAKARTA GLOBE