As four tourists took photographs on a popular glass bridge in Indonesia on Wednesday, two floor panels suddenly shattered, killing one and injuring the other three. In total, 11 people had been standing on the Geong — a 30-foot-high bridge in Central Java — at the time of the accident.
"Two of the victims were able to cling to the bridge's frame while two others plunged to the ground, one of whom was pronounced dead shortly after the collapse," reports the Daily Beast.
Sadly, many tourists who had visited the bridge since it opened last April had expressed concerns online over the bridge's safety, but the bridge's management had neglected to look into it.
Video below, posted by KOMPAS TV, shows the visitors on the bridge before it shattered, and then the aftermath (but spares us the tragic details).
From The Jakarta Post:
…[T]he glass flooring on a bridge that shattered at a tourist destination in the Limpakuwus pine forest in Banyumas regency, Central Java, this week was extremely thin, measuring only 1.2 centimeters. Comr. Agus Supriadi, head of the criminal investigation unit at the Banyumas City Police, said on Thursday that in addition to the thin glass layer, the on-site investigation had found potential negligence by the management of the bridge at The Geong tourist attraction.
Comr. Agus Supriadi, head of the criminal investigation unit at the Banyumas City Police, said on Thursday that in addition to the thin glass layer, the on-site investigation had found potential negligence by the management of the bridge at The Geong tourist attraction.
"The workers who conducted the testing lacked expertise in construction. They relied on their experience in the tourism industry," he said.
The investigators found that the bridge had not been properly maintained and that there had been no safety testing. Additionally, there were no safety nets around the bridge, no warning signs and no safety instructions. The ticket attendants also lacked knowledge of visitor safety procedures.
