Tourist dies after 30ft-high glass bridge shatters at Indonesian beauty spot
Topics: Crime, World News
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: Hana Meika Ritka Diana/Facebook
Topics: Crime, World News
A tourist in Indonesia has died and three others were left injured after a popular glass-bottomed bridge gave way.
On Wednesday (25 October), 11 tourists from Cilacep, Central Java, were crossing the Geong Bridge in the Limpakuwus Pine Forest.
The glass walkway is 10 metres in height and appears to be held up by two large golden hands.
It’s said that while the tourists were admiring the forest view, various glass panels on the bottom of the bridge began to give way.
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In harrowing footage shared across social media, one of the 11 visitors could be seen struggling to climb back up onto the bridge, while two others were spotted lying motionless on the forest floor.
Later in the clip, onlookers went to aid the falling civilian and to help them get back up on their feet.
After rescuing the tourist from plummeting through the bottom of the bridge, they proceeded to escort them off the glass attraction.
As per Singaporean outlet, The Straits Times, workers in the local area reported hearing the sound of glass breaking at around 10am local time.
Following the tragedy, Banyumas City Police Chief Edy Suranta Sitepu confirmed that one of the fallen victims had been declared dead shortly after the fall.
On Wednesday, the Chief also confirmed that three other tourists had sustained minor injuries from the accident.
According to The Jakarta Post, Ekop Purnomo, chairman of the Limpakuwus Pine Forest Cooperative, had previously contacted the manager of the Geong Bridge in April.
At the time, he said that he wanted to conduct a safety evaluation of the tourist attraction after he received complaints across social media.
The chairman has claimed that as many as five percent of visitors to the tourist attraction had shared negative sentiments online.
It’s further alleged that Purnomo contacted the unnamed manager and attempted to set up a meeting to discuss the complaints.
However, on the day of the meeting, the bridge manager reportedly elected to send a representative in his place
The publication stated that the chairman said: “There was no discussion. We only left a message.”
It’s also reported that following the incident, local police requested that Purnomo close Limpakuwus Pine Forest to guests.
After police compliance was met and the forest was closed to the public, police were due to conduct an investigation into the scene of the crime on Thursday, 26 October.