A glass panel broke on a 32-foot-high suspension bridge in Indonesia on October 25.
The accident resulted in one death, according to The Jakarta Post.
The company that constructed the bridge was negligent and used thin glass, according to local authorities.
A tourist was killed after a glass panel broke on a suspension bridge in Indonesia on October 25, the The Jakarta Post reported, citing local police.
The 32-foot-high suspension bridge was a popular tourist attraction in the Limpakuwus Pine Forest in Central Java’s Banyumas Regency. The glass broke while 11 tourists were walking on the bridge at 10 a.m., per The Post.
A video of the incident went viral on TikTok, garnering over two million views. The video appears to show a person hanging off the bridge and two people pulling the person back up. An object that looks like glass can be seen and heard falling to the ground in the video.
Edy Suranta Sitepu, the chief of the Bayumas City Police, told The Jakarta Post two people fell to the ground when the bridge’s glass panels shattered, while two others held onto the handles. One of the people who fell was killed, while the other suffered minor injuries. Insider has not been able to independently verify how many people were killed or injured.
Agus Supriadi, the head of the criminal investigation unit at Banyumas City Police, told The Post on October 27 that the construction company that built the bridge was negligent and used thin glass. The bridge was also poorly maintained and failed to undergo safety testing, Supriadi said. Indonesian police’s public relations division did not respond to Insider’s requests for comment.
Investigators said the glass was less than half an inch thick, per the Post. Each glass panel used on the Grand Canyon Skywalk in Arizona is nearly 3 inches thick and has a top layer of glass that can be replaced if damaged.
Edy Suranta Sitepu, the chief senior commander of the Bayumas City Police, told The Post on Wednesday that Edi Suseno, the owner and manager of the bridge, has been charged with negligence that led to the death of the tourist. Suseno has since been detained, per the report.
Sitepu told Tribun Solo, a local news outlet, on Monday that Suseno had designed the bridge. Suseno faces up to five years in prison if found guilty of committing negligence that resulted in either death or serious injury, Sitepu said. Insider has not been able to independently verify that Edi Suseno has been detained or the name of his construction company.
It’s not the first time a glass suspension bridge has raised safety concerns. In May 2021, a man was stranded on a glass suspension bridge in China after strong winds shattered several of the bridge’s panels. In February 2022, cracks were seen on the panels of the tallest glass suspension bridge in Vietnam, prompting authorities to conduct safety checks.
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