Updated: 9am
AT LEAST 75 people were injured after a mezzanine floor at Indonesia’s stock exchange building collapsed into the lobby, police said, as victims were carried out of the debris-filled building on stretchers.
“The number of injured… from the floor collapse at the Indonesia Stock Exchange is 75,” national police spokesman Setyo Wasisto told AFP, after an official from the stock exchange had earlier said no one had been killed in the accident.
“We are still investigating the cause, but for now our priorities are the casualties,” Jakarta police spokesman Argo Yuwono told Metro TV.
Footage aired by TV stations showed several people lying on the ground and being carrying outside the building.
The police spokesman did not say how many were injured but added that there were no reports of deaths so far.
Television news footage showed people panicking and screaming as officials tried to evacuate the area amid piles of debris.
A reporter from Metro TV, who was in the building to cover the stock market, said the incident happened shortly after noon local time (5am Irish time).
“There was a loud banging so people who were inside immediately ran outside of the building,” said journalist Marlia Zein.
The structure appeared to be an internal balcony or mezzanine floor.
It collapsed on to the ground level of the complex’s second tower, Indonesian Stock Exchange spokesman Rheza Andhika told Bloomberg, adding that it had not been an explosion.
The Indonesia Stock Exchange is located in the centre of Jakarta, and the local office of the World Bank is also housed on the 12th floor of the complex, according to its website.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
have your say