Tourist Dies & 3 Others Injured After 10 Metre-High Glass Walkway Shatters At Forest Park
The police discovered that the glass floor was only 1.2cm thick.
By May Vin Ang — 30 Oct 2023, 11:20 AM
A tourist died and three others were left injured after a glass walkway at a popular tourist attraction in Central Java, Indonesia unexpectedly gave way
According to The Jakarta Post, the incident occurred when a group of 11 local Indonesian tourists was on the bridge at The Geong in the Limpakuwus Pine Forest in Banyumas on Wednesday, 25 October.
One of the park's workers reported hearing the sound of the glass breaking around 10am.
Banyumas police chief Senior Commissioner Edy Suranta Sitepu confirmed that two people fell to the ground below, while another two managed to cling onto the bridge's frame after a glass panel gave way.
One of the victims who fell through the gap died on the spot, while the other sustained minor injuries.
A viral video clip of the incident shows several onlookers helping the other two victims climb back up the bridge to safety.
Banyumas city police have since found possible causes for negligence by the management of the bridge
According to the police, the glass flooring of the bridge was only 1.2cm thick.
Banyumas head of criminal investigation Commissioner Agus Supriadi said, besides the extremely thin glass layer, the bridge had not been properly maintained and that there had been no safety testing.
"The workers who conducted the testing lacked expertise in construction. They relied on their experience in the tourism industry," said Supriadi on Thursday, 26 October, as quoted by The Jakarta Post.
Furthermore, there were no safety nets around the bridge, no warning signs, and no safety instructions displayed.
The ticket attendants also lacked knowledge of visitor safety procedures.
The Geong's manager had previously been approached regarding safety concerns at the attraction
Limpakuwus Pine Forest Cooperative chairman Eko Purnomo had asked The Geong's manager to conduct a safety evaluation in April, after safety standards at the newly-opened glass walkway was called into question by numerous comments on social media.
However, the bridge's manager did not attend the meeting, and instead sent a representative.
The entire Limpakuwus Pine Forest tourist area has been closed indefinitely to facilitate investigations.
