Published 17:53 IST, September 14th 2019
Blast at Indonesian police warehouse holding World War II munitions
An explosion occurred at the Indonesian police evidence warehouse on September 13 and the warehouse was containing munitions dating from World War Two.
An explosion occurred at the Indonesian police evidence warehouse on September 13. The warehouse was containing munitions dating from World War II which resulted in injuring an officer. The police said the blast prompted an evacuation of nearby residents. The warehouse is situated in the Mobile Police Brigade Headquarters in Srondol within close proximity to the city of Semarang in Central Java province. The explosion occurred at 7 am (0000 GMT), city police chief A. Dahniel told a local news agency. He added that the nearby residents found the explosives which were stored in the warehouse. The reason for the explosion was being investigated by the police and firefighters had been deployed to tackle the situation. The provincial police barricaded the site of explosion for further investigation of the matter.
Japan occupied Indonesia during WW II
Japan occupied Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia during World War II from March 1942 until the end of the war in September 1945. It was one of the most difficult times in Indonesian history. The Japanese navy and army overran Dutch and its allies who earlier ruled Indonesia for ages. Most of the Indonesians happily welcomed the Japanese as liberators from their Dutch colonial masters. In 1944-45, the allied troops bypassed Indonesia and did not attack the most populous parts such as Java and Sumatra.
About Indonesia and its similar incidents
Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia between the Indian and the Pacific Ocean. It has a stretch of more than 17,000 islands and is considered to be the world's largest island country. It has an area of 1,904,569 square kilometres. Java, the world's most populous island is home to more than half of the country's population. Deadly fires are very common in Indonesia due to poor safety measures. In 2017, around 46 people were killed and a dozen injured due to a fire that broke out through a fireworks factory outside Jakarta. In a similar incident, seventeen people were killed when a broke out a karaoke bar on Sulawesi island in 2015 and, in 2009, a fire killed 20 people at a karaoke bar in Medan, on Sumatra island.
Updated 20:03 IST, September 14th 2019