Four Indonesians survive SIA plane crash<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Four of the five Indonesians aboard the
\nSingapore Airlines (SIA) Boeing 747 jetliner that crashed at
\nTaiwan's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport on Tuesday
\nsurvived the accident, an official said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Singapore Airlines spokeswoman Susi Charma said the four
\nsurviving passengers were husband and wife, Anton Gunadi and
\nLailawati Gunadi, Hendric Leenardo and Sigit Suciptoyono.<\/p>\n
"The fate of another Indonesian passenger, Cecilia Halim, is
\nnot yet known," Susi said.<\/p>\n
Susi said that the airline would soon fly "immediate family
\nmembers" of the victims to Taiwan.<\/p>\n
Survivors Anton Gunadi and Lailawati Gunadi, are residents of
\nBanjarmasin, the capital of South Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
Antara news agency reported that when contacted, the couple's
\nson, Doni Gunadi, confirmed that his parents, both passengers of
\nthe Singaporean flight to the United States which crashed at
\nabout 11:18 p.m. local time on Oct. 31, were safe.<\/p>\n
"My father called me on Tuesday midnight to say that both he
\nand my mother survived the crash, and that they were staying at a
\nhotel in Taipei," Doni told the news agency.<\/p>\n
He added that his parents had left from Banjarmasin on Monday
\nfor Jakarta, where they flew to Singapore.<\/p>\n
Doni said his parents had planned to visit his brother in the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
"They said they are canceling their trip to the U.S. and are
\ncoming straight back home, where they will hold a ceremony in
\ncelebration of their safety," Doni said.<\/p>\n
Anton Gunadi, an entrepreneur of Chinese descent, is the owner
\nof the Bina Benua Group, which has a range of business interests
\nin South Kalimantan and other provinces.<\/p>\n
Investigators on Wednesday were looking into whether the
\njetliner hit an object on the runway before the fiery crash,
\nwhich left 79 of the 179 people on board dead, and another 85
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
By midday, emergency workers had pulled the last bodies and
\nthe flight's black box from the wreckage of the Los Angeles-bound
\nBoeing 747-400, which crashed on takeoff during a typhoon.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Singapore Airlines Media
\nCenter in Singapore told The Jakarta Post that surviving
\npassengers would receive US$5,000, while the families of deceased
\npassengers would receive US$25,000.<\/p>\n
"This is not compensation. This is to assist them with their
\nimmediate expenses. SIA will immediately provide to those on the
\nflight $5,000 to assist with their expenses," the spokeswoman,
\nwho requested anonymity, said on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
"If the passenger has died, the airlines will provide an up-
\nfront payment of US$25,000 to assist them (family) with their
\nimmediate expenses."<\/p>\n
When asked about Cecilia Halim, the spokeswoman said that she
\nwas still "unaccounted for".<\/p>\n
Separately, another spokesperson at the media center, Maniam,
\nsaid that the black box, which records movement, was found intact
\nbut that it would take "a few days" to find out what it had
\nrecorded.<\/p>\n
"So far, we've found the black box but not the cockpit voice
\nrecorder," Maniam told the Post.<\/p>\n
Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian visited the airport in Taoyuan
\ncity, just south of the capital Taipei, to offer his condolences
\nto relatives of the victims.<\/p>\n
Near coffins adorned with chrysanthemums, Buddhist monks
\nchanted prayers on Wednesday for the victims of Singapore
\nAirlines flight SQ 006. Cries from grieving relatives who located
\ntheir loved ones lying beneath white sheets on the ground cut
\nthrough the chants, Antara reported. (ylt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/four-indonesians-survive-sia-plane-crash-1447893297",
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