WATCH | Roof collapse at Terminal 3 of Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport sends passengers scrambling
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "WATCH | Roof collapse at Terminal 3 of Indonesia's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport sends passengers scrambling")
Roof collapse at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Photograph: (Screenshot/Video/X)
Did a busy airport ceiling just collapse mid-boarding? Panic erupted at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after debris and water crashed into a crowded lounge. What caused the sudden collapse and how bad was it?
Scroll down to see more.
Chaos broke out at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Indonesia's capital Jakarta on Monday (Apr 6) afternoon when part of the ceiling at Terminal 3 gave way, sending debris and a torrent of water crashing into a packed departure lounge. A passenger waiting for his flight, describing the scene, said that "a lot of people" were caught in the torrential cascade. Here's what happened. Scroll down to see the shocking video.
What happened at Jakarta's Airport Terminal 3?
The collapse happened at Gate 7 around 1:40 PM local time, right in the middle of the boarding window for several flights. One passenger waiting to depart for Singapore described the moment the ceiling gave away and water started coming through first, slowly, then all at once. "The incident at gate 7, around 13.40 WIB," he told Indonesian news agency ANTARA. "There were quite a lot of people, thank God, I still had time to run."
Confirming the incident, PT Angkasa Pura Indonesia (InJourney Airports) Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Branch Office (Soetta) Tangerang, Banten said that the "disturbance" lasted for about 5 minutes.
What caused the massive roof leak?
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Airport officials attributed the incident to days of heavy rainfall that had been battering the city. The leading theory is that prolonged water accumulation in the ceiling structure eventually became too much for it to hold. "The condition of the disturbance at one point of the roof lasted for about 5 minutes," said Assistant Deputy Communication and Legal of Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Yudistiawan.
He added that flight operations were not disrupted and that the situation was brought under control quickly. Airport personnel monitor all facilities around the clock, with standing instructions to clear any area showing signs of structural stress before it becomes a safety issue, noted Yudistiawan. Monday's incident, he suggested, was handled within that framework — though videos circulating online told a rather more alarming story.
Watch video HERE
A 17-second video filmed by a passenger and widely shared on social media captures the sequence — a leak appearing at the top of the terminal, gradually widening, until the ceiling panels buckle and water floods down onto the seating area below. Passengers can be seen scattering in every direction.
Passengers moving through Soekarno-Hatta in the coming days have been advised to keep an eye on official airline channels for any schedule changes, and to arrive early given the ongoing weather conditions across the city. No injuries have been officially reported.
