Explosion of Tahu Factory Kills Workers in Malang, Police Conduct Crime Scene

Malang Police Criminal Investigation Unit personnel set up a police line to secure the location of the explosion at a tofu factory in Malang Regency, Saturday (31/1/2026). ANTARA/HO-Polres Malang

MALANG - An explosion at a tofu factory in Krajan Village, Sutojayan Village, Pakisaji District, Malang Regency, killed one worker on Saturday. Now the Malang Regional Police (Polres) is investigating the cause.

Head of the Public Relations Section of the Malang Police, AKP Bambang Subinanjar in Malang, East Java, said the investigation was also to find out for sure whether there was an element of negligence or not.

"We are still conducting further in-depth and coordination to find out the exact cause of this incident. Currently, our focus is on handling the crime scene and the completeness of the investigation administration," said Bambang.

Bambang said personnel from the Inafis Team of the Criminal Investigation Unit (Satreskrim) of the Malang Police together with the Pakisaji Sector Police had carried out an investigation of the crime scene (TKP), collected witness statements, and secured the location as part of the investigation. The deceased was known as Muhammad Ridwan (46).

Based on the results of the initial investigation and the investigation of the crime scene that had been carried out by the Malang Police Criminal Investigation Unit, said Bambang, it was found that the incident occurred at around 06.30 WIB.

At that time, the victim, Muhammad Ridwan, who was on duty as an operator, was lighting a boiler furnace that used firewood as fuel to produce tofu.

From the results of the investigation process that has been carried out, the police suspect that the explosion of the kettle was triggered by steam pressure and excessive heat inside the kettle.

"The suspicion is that the steam pressure and excessive heat in the kettle caused the explosion," he said.

When the kettle exploded, the victim was immediately thrown several meters and died at the scene.

The body of the victim, who is a resident of Wajak Village, Wajak District, Malang Regency, has been evacuated to the Saiful Anwar Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Malang City and is planned to be examined to determine the exact cause of death.