The injured military (TNI) officers were doing sports when the blast occurred, Jakarta Metropolitan Police Chief Inspector General Gatot Eddy Pramono told journalists here on Tuesday.
The wounded victims were the eye witnesses because they were among individuals who firstly knew and heard the blast. However, these eye witnesses still received medical treatment for their injuries, he said.
The police investigators still intensified their work on the site of the incident to find individuals who could be categorised as the most significant witnesses or those directly knew and heard the blast, Pramono said.
The police investigators would question the wounded victims in their capacity as the eye witnesses after getting recovered, he said, adding that the Jakarta police had sent their teams of investigators to probe the incident.
In assisting the police investigators to focus on their work on the site of the blast, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police temporarily closed a road section around the Monas Square area.
According to the Jakarta Metropolitan Police's Traffic Management Center, the closed road section which was made effective at around 8:37 a.m. local time affected the traffic flows on Medan Merdeka Timur and Medan Merdeka Utara areas.
The closure of the road section was aimed to help the police investigators do their work at the site of the blast. Several policemen were seen placing barricades to configure traffic redirection and safeguarding the closed road section.
Local media reports revealed that the blast was not caused by a bomb so that it was not an act of terror. Instead, it was related to a smoke grenade.
The two wounded victims were hospitalized at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital (RSPAD).
On Nov 13, a blast also occurred in the Medan city police headquarters in North Sumatra Province causing a suicide bomber to get killed and six others to sustained injuries.
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Translator: Andi F, Livia K, Rahmad Nasuti
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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