Four Bogor Botanical Garden Visitors Killed by Falling Tree
12 January 2015 02:32 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - At least four people died after they were hit by a huge tree branch from a resin tree (Agathis alba) at Bogor Botanical Park on Sunday, January 11, 2015. The incident took place at 10:15 local time.
The four dead victims were identified as Sarijo (39), Surjana (42), Supriyono (32), and Saefulloh (43). In addition to claiming four lives, the felled branch also injured around 31 people, who have been taken to nearby hospital.
Head of Central Bogor District Police Commissioner Victor Gatot H.S. said that victims were staffs of PT Asalta Mandiri Agung who were having a gathering at the part.
Victor also said that the branch, which has a diameter of one meter and a length of 15 meter, was found to be porous.
In the meantime, Head of Bogor Botanical Garden Conservation Center, which is under the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) (LIPI), Didik Widyatmoko confirmed that the branch was from the resin tree, which is 50 years old.
"The tree branch fell down because it was porous," Didik said.
He also admitted that the center always collected data about tress in the botanical garden and officials at the botanical garden also routinely fell trees that are already porous and will die.
"However, it turns out that that the collapsed tree went undetected because it got porous in the middle," he said, adding that the tree was located on Astrid Street, located 500 meter from the Third Gate of Bogor Botanical Garden.
M. SIDIK PERMANA