Collapsed Bridge Death Toll Rises To 20

Tenggarong (Antara Bali) - The number of dead victims found at the location of the collapsed bridge in Tenggarong, Kutai Kertanegara, East Kalimatan on  Thursday morning reached 20.

On Thursday at 08.25 a.m. local time, a Search and Rescue team found one more body, identified as Makmur Azis (37), three kilometers from the collapsed bridge.

"The victim was successfully identified only moments after his body was found based on a report from his wife, Umi Salmah, this morning," the head of the East Kalimantan provincial police's medical service, Adj. Snr. Comr. Budi Heryadi said.

Budi Heryadi who is also chief of the disaster victim identification (DVI) team said the victim's identity was established  quickly thanks to the information from his wife.

Makmur Azis who hailed from Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, West Java, was an employee of PT Bukaka. "His body  is likely to  be flown to Bekasi for burial," Budi said.

The 700-m long bridge over the Mahakam river in East Kalimantan province collapsed at 4.30 pm last Saturday causing a number of vehicles to fall into the river.

To reveal the causes behind the accident which also injured tens of people, the government was  urged to set up an independent team of experts that could work professionally and determine  the causes of the tragedy.

"Certain parties should be held responsible for the collapse of the bridge and in this case the government should set up an independent team to investigate it," Malkan Amin of the House Commission V on transportation affairs said on Wednesday.

Spanning 710 meters over the Mahakam River, the bridge is the longest suspended bridge in Indonesia with a suspended section of 270 meters.

The names of several companies have been mentioned in the media as having participated in the bridge's construction.  PT Perencana Jaya was said to have served as consultant on the project, PT Hutama Karya as the main  contractor and PT Bukaka Teknik Utama as provider of maintenance services.(*)