Jakarta woke up to a serving of bombs in Mega Kuningan luxury hotels

Friday morning, one favorite day in the week of Indonesians, was shaken by a loud explosion from JW Marriott, Mega Kuningan Jakarta. Another one soon followed across the street at another luxury hotel The Ritz Carlton. Both buildings are owned by Jakarta real estate tycoon Tan Kian who is also responsible for a handful other luxury developments, including Pacific Place that hosts the other Ritz Carlton in Jakarta.

First bomb exploded around 7.40AM, when many hotel guests were having their breakfasts in the hotels. Soon, 9 casualties were reported with 6 dead bodies immediately retracted from the hotels, 4 from JW Marriott and 2 from inside Ritz Carlton. One victim with lethal injuries was taken to the nearby Medistra Hospital. He was later reported to die in the hospital, after being identified as CEO of Holcim Indonesia, New Zealand national Timothy Mackay. Minister of Politics, Legal and Security Widodo AS, the first top official to inspect the crime scene confirmed the explosion came from high explosive bombs. They were reported to have come from a car parked close to the hotels. Following the blasts, many companies with offices in Mega Kuningan instructed the staff to work from home, including multinational HP and XL Telecommunication. 3, a Hutchison-owned cellular phone company with an office in Menara Dea in the outer ring of Mega Kuningan, kept their staff in the office. Their only concern is continuation of their sponsored Manchester United soccer game, scheduled today.

In Surabaya, the second largest city in the country, security was tightened soon after the first blast. US Consulate Office immediately organized additional military personnel to keep watch while communicating with US Embassy in Jakarta for the next security clampdown. Public Affairs Consul in Surabaya, Andrea Dearment, reported that no activity is interrupted today, since visa application office is closed on Fridays. However, she can't confirm whether visa ofice will be open on Tuesday. Monday is a public holiday in Indonesia. Dearment assured that it was merely a preventive measure, a normal procedure during a disaster. Expatriate destinations in Surabaya followed suit. JW Marriott in Surabaya immediately ordered sweeping for explosives in the hotel.

In the meantime, the internet was flooded with news, images, videos and commentaries from the younger, tech-savvy Indonesians, boosting the incident's Technorati rating. Some of them mourned with the families of the victims, some lamented the incidents while some others speculated the motives behind the bombings. Could it have anything to do with the recent shooting of Australian citizen in Freeport Papua? Time of explosion is similar to 2003 JW Marriott bombing, same time, same place, could they have been related? Or could it be a warning or an afterthought over the recent Presidential election, on which the incumbent President Susilo Bambang YudhoyonoSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono emerged an absolute winner? Meanwhil, at 10.10AM Jakarta time, another explosion was reported in Muara Angke toll gate in North Jakarta. The explosion was later reported as a car battery accident unrelated to the previous ones.