Jakarta blasts: Some took selfies instead of helping police call ambulance
During the blasts in Jakarta last week, selfies were of utmost priority to some of the people near the incident.
In fact, one civilian died from taking a selfie, Indonesian police have revealed.
At a press conference on Monday (Jan 18), police spoke about the immediate reaction of the bystanders who were near the Starbucks cafe that was at the centre of one of the explosions.
The attacks killed eight people and injured dozens in Jakarta's commercial district.
A police officer, Untung Sangaji, was having coffee nearby when a suicide bomber blew himself.
He said: "When the first bomb went off, people quickly gathered around to find out what was going on.
"I yelled 'call ambulance' but instead of helping police, they preferred taking photos and selfies," said Mr Untung.
The cop managed to quickly spring into action as he spotted one of the perpetrators. He quickly tried to stop him from getting away.
He said: "I emptied nearly three magazines. Suddenly, he dropped his bag and another bomb exploded. There were nails inside. So, when it went off, those nails just went everywhere."
Meanwhile, Indonesian police are said to have detained more suspects as they continue to investigate the series of deadly explosions and gunfire, according to national police chief Suharsono.
He said: "I have heard there are new arrests of suspected terrorists, but I only know for sure that 12 suspects have so far been detained in East Kalimantan, East Java, West Java, and Jakarta."
These suspects are being held by Indonesia's counter-terrorism squad Densus 88 to determine any links between the detainees and last Thursday's (Jan 18) attacks.
Source: Channelnewsasia
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