Indonesia building collapse: at least 3 fatalities and dozen injured

At least three people lost their lives and dozens were injured after a building hosting a Quran recital collapsed on Indonesia’s main island of Java on Sunday (Sep 7), according to disaster officials. Around 100 people, most of them women, had gathered in a community hall in West Java’s Bogor district for an event marking the Prophet Mohammed’s birthday when the structure gave way, said Mochamad Adam Hamdani of the local disaster mitigation agency.

“Based on initial reports, 84 people are receiving treatment, while three have died,” Hamdani told AFP. He suggested the collapse may have been caused by overcrowding, noting that the hall also served as a place of worship. “The structure may not have been strong enough, as many were eager to join the celebration,” he explained. All attendees have been accounted for, and victims were quickly taken to nearby hospitals, most with minor injuries. Witnesses said there was no rain or landslide at the time of the incident.

Building safety has long been a concern in Indonesia due to weak construction standards. In 2022, a three-story minimarket in South Kalimantan collapsed, killing five. Two years earlier, a five-story building in Jakarta partially collapsed, injuring two. In 2018, seven teenagers died in Cirebon after the hall they were rehearsing in caved in, and later that same year, 75 people were injured when a mezzanine at Jakarta’s stock exchange building fell into the lobby.