West Java Provincial Government Ensures Handling 3 Victims And Repairing The Collapse Of The Roof Of The Bandung YPK Building

West Java Regional Secretary Herman Suryatman inspected the YPK Bandung building which collapsed on Tuesday (29/10/2024). (ANTARA/HO West Java Provincial Government)

JAKARTA - The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of West Java (Jabar) has ensured that the handling of victims and repair of the collapsed roof of the Cultural Center Foundation Building (YPK) in Bandung is carried out optimally.

West Java Regional Secretary (Sekda) Herman Suryatman said that his party after learning about the incident on Monday, October 28, focused on handling three minor injuries who were rushed to the nearest hospital. Currently, the three have returned to their respective homes.

"However, we ask the Head of the West Java Tourism and Culture Office (Head of the West Java Tourism and Culture Office) to be monitored to ensure they are in good condition," Herman said while reviewing the location of the incident, in Bandung, Tuesday, October 29, which was confiscated by Antara.

He emphasized that the West Java Provincial Government is responsible for guarding and ensuring that the three victims who guard the exhibition booth recover as soon as possible.

"God willing, his condition is good, once again he has minor injuries, two are in shock and one is indeed four stitches," he said.

While visiting the YPK Building, Herman received information that the building was in a crowded condition used as a painting exhibition location. Towards the end of the exhibition, at around 17.30 WIB the roof collapsed on the front of the building which was used as a gallery room.

Previously there were no signs of damage, so the building was still used for exhibitions, even though the wood used was an old wood in a fragile condition.

"The YPK building under the coordination of the West Java Disparbud yesterday afternoon experienced a disaster, the roof collapsed. After I checked directly, this is heritage, an old building that has never been repaired on the roof. The wood is old wood, then the condition is fragile so it can't withstand the tile load, which is definitely very heavy until yesterday it collapsed," he said.

Furthermore, Herman instructed the YPK building to be secured, not to let anyone enter the location, because it was feared that there would be a follow-up because the elbows or roof frames of the construction building were interrelated, especially when the tiles were still traveling.

Herman also said that his party directly contacted the West Java Housing and Settlement Service (Disperkim), as well as reminded the West Java Department of Tourism and Culture to coordinate with ministries in charge of cultural heritage to consult, regarding the rules on how to treat and repair the building.

"Those two combinations are what we do to identify the damage, then prepare designs for repairs that hopefully can be completed in the last few days," he said.

Herman said that he had reported this incident to the Acting Governor of West Java Beyvi Machmudin considering the rainy season is coming soon. "We will find a way out so that this cultural center building can be repaired and rehabilitated as soon as possible," he said.

Regarding the budget allocation, Herman said that coordination with the West Java Inspectorate would be carried out to formulate the best and accountable solution. Herman said that this collapse incident should be used as a moment so that other cultural heritage buildings in West Java are identified.

The West Java Provincial Government will make a circular so that districts/cities also check cultural heritage buildings in their regions and government assets.

"So I think the lesson is taken, on the one hand, the cultural heritage building must be preserved and on the other hand so that it is anticipated because this is an old building," said Herman.