Learn More About Smoke Grenades

Smoke grenades as a sign of the landing of an AU plane (Photo: US Air Force: www.af.mil)

JAKARTA - Head of Metro Police Inspector General Gatot Eddy Pramono confirmed that the explosion at Monas came from a smoke grenade. This explosion injured two people, Serka Fajar and Praka Gunawan, who are now being treated at the Gatot Subroto Hospital.

"This is a smoke grenade," said Gatot during a press conference at Monas, Tuesday, December 3

The police will find out the origin of the smoke grenades until they are in the Monas area. This is because the grenade was found when a number of members of the Permanent Garrison 1 / Jkt were doing morning exercise at Monas.

Police have carried out sterilization from the explosion site. Teams from the Bomb Squad (Jibom), Inafis and the Forensic Laboratory (Labfor) also held a scene where the case took place. However, the results of the on-site inspection cannot be disclosed to the public.

Processing the scene of the Monas explosion case (Rizky Adytia Pramana / VOi)

One of the eyewitnesses at the scene saw a plume of smoke when the incident occurred. The witness named Rifan, who is a cleaning officer at Monas. While on duty, he suddenly saw white smoke sticking out of the air in one corner of the Monas complex.

Rifan said, it looked like a puff of fire smoke. However, the smoke did not last long. Because, he only saw a few minutes, after he approached him, the smoke was gone.

"From afar, I saw that there was a lot of smoke. But when I approached it, there was none," he said.

Launching from wikipedia (Tuesday, December 3), ordinary smoke grenades are tubular and used for signaling devices as targets or markers for landing. These grenades contain potassium chlorate, lactose and dye and when used, they emit thick smoke. Common colors are red, yellow, green and purple, and all use very bright dyes to increase the chances of being seen from above.

For white smoky grenades, hexachloroethane-zinc and aluminum granules are usually used. The reaction is exothermic and although it remains intact, the smoke grenade shell will remain hot for some time even after the grenade has stopped emitting smoke.

Although modern smoke grenades are designed not to directly emit fire or sparks, they remain a fire hazard and are capable of igniting dry vegetation or combustible material if used viciously.

Meanwhile, another type of smoke grenade is the exploding variation. This grenade is filled with white phosphorus (WP), a pyrophoric substance that spreads rapidly into clouds by an internal burst charge. Meanwhile, the white phosphorus will glow bright yellow while producing white smoke.

Another type, which is often used is a white or gray smoke grenade. These grenades are used for tricking and hiding.