Victims' identification painfully slow<\/p>\n
MEDAN, North Sumatra (JP): Relatives of the 234 victims of the
\nGaruda Indonesia plane which crashed near here Friday began the
\npainful task of identifying their loved ones yesterday.<\/p>\n
This proved to be difficult, agonizingly slow and for many,
\nstranded in Jakarta by the haze, impossible.<\/p>\n
The remains, put in sealed plastic bags, began arriving on
\nmilitary trucks at Adam Malik Hospital in the morning.<\/p>\n
Their arrival was greeted by hysterical wailing from the
\nhundreds of people jamming the hospital's entrance.<\/p>\n
For some of the remains, the only clues to their identity were
\npieces of clothing -- salvaged from the wreckage -- and attached
\nto the bags to help identification.<\/p>\n
Rescue workers had taken 214 bags to the hospital by early
\nevening, but only 24 bodies had been identified.<\/p>\n
Those identified included pilot Rachmo Wiyogo, and three
\nstewardesses; Soelistyowati, Retno Margaretha, and Abar Sabariah,
\na hospital official said. Their bodies are to be flown to Jakarta
\ntoday, weather permitting.<\/p>\n
The others identified include the SCTV crew, Ferdinandus Sius
\nand Yance Iskandar.<\/p>\n
Antara also listed Junjung Sitorus, Burhanuddin, Amiruddin
\nHarahap, Syahrial, Rajin Tarigen Sibero, Mulyono, Andi Pudianto,
\nLukman Hakim, Darna and Agus Salim among those identified.<\/p>\n
There was no news about Polar Yanto Tanoto, the president of
\nPT Inti Indorayon Utama, who was on board the ill-fated plane.<\/p>\n
The relatives came armed with photos and other personal
\nbelongings of the victims, including medical and dental records,
\nto help with the identification process.<\/p>\n
Some of those that were identified were released to their
\nrelatives. Preparations were being made for others to be flown to
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The Airbus A-300-B4 en route from Jakarta crashed shortly
\nbefore landing Friday afternoon. Although Garuda has not declared
\nas much, rescue officials said there was no hope of anyone
\nsurviving and that the 222 passengers and 12 crew members were
\nall killed.<\/p>\n
Anxiety turned to outrage at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport
\nwhere hundreds of relatives of the victims waited, and waited,
\nfor the chance to be flown to Medan.<\/p>\n
Garuda was providing a Boeing-747 to take them to Medan to
\nhelp the authorities with the identification process.<\/p>\n
The airplane was originally scheduled to leave at 10 a.m.. The
\nflight was postponed because Medan's Polonia airport was closed
\ndue to thick haze.<\/p>\n
Many of them arrived as early as 5 a.m. and were checked in by
\nGaruda and proceeded to the waiting lounge. The long wait and
\nuncertainty added to their grief and pain, and eventually gave
\nway to confusion and anger.<\/p>\n
"Garuda isn't giving us enough attention. They've neglected us
\nfor hours," one man said early in the afternoon.<\/p>\n
Some vented their frustration at reporters who hounded them
\nwith probing questions all day long.<\/p>\n
"Don't be paparazzi," one man shouted at photographers.<\/p>\n
Some of them made alternative arrangements, booking on the
\nnext available ship to Medan.<\/p>\n
Only in the late afternoon, when it became apparent that the
\nplane would not be able to leave, did Garuda decide to put them
\nup at the Sheraton Bandara and other hotels near the airport.<\/p>\n
Pujo Baroto, a Garuda public relations officer, said yesterday
\nthat the plane was now scheduled to leave at 4 a.m. today.<\/p>\n
But even this looked doubtful last night with visibility at
\nPolonia reported to be a mere 200 meters.<\/p>\n
Relatives of the 12 crew members killed in the plane were also
\npicked up from their homes and put up at the airport hotel.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Garuda and the Ministry of Transportation remained
\ntightlipped about the probable cause of the accident.<\/p>\n
The investigation will almost certainly look into the
\npossibility that haze, which has been shrouding Medan for the
\npast week, could have blurred the pilot's visibility.<\/p>\n
Officials said visibility at Polonia airport at the time of
\nthe crash was 600 meters, good enough to keep the airport open.<\/p>\n
Rescue workers found the wreckage of the GA 152 flight in a
\n500-meter ravine in Sibolangit district, Deli Serdang regency
\nsome 30 km from Medan.<\/p>\n
The plane was shattered into pieces as were many of the
\nvictims.<\/p>\n
Collection of the remains was a time-consuming process and
\ncarrying them up the ravine was an even more daunting task.<\/p>\n
Each body bag had to be carried by at least four people
\nthrough the bushy undergrowth.<\/p>\n
The remains were wrapped in sarongs when the rescue workers
\nran out of plastic bags.<\/p>\n
About 1,500 soldiers took part in the operation.<\/p>\n
The government had hoped to complete the evacuation and
\nidentification process quickly, and to hand over the identified
\nremains to relatives by yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n
But with identification difficult, the head of the North
\nSumatra Transportation Office, Aswin Harahap, proposed a mass
\nburial for all the unidentified victims at a site to be
\ndetermined jointly by the provincial administration and the
\nvictims' relatives.<\/p>\n
North Sumatra Governor Raja Inal Siregar said he was waiting
\nfor a ruling from religious leaders on a mass burial, given that
\nthe victims were of different religions, Antara said.<\/p>\n
Last night, President Soeharto agreed to the proposal for a
\nmass burial, Minister\/State Secretary Moerdiono announced in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The burial could be held near the crash site tomorrow, giving
\nrelatives of the victims time to reach Medan, Moerdiono said.<\/p>\n
Moerdiono said the President urged the authorities to take
\nevery necessary step to allow the relatives of the victims to
\nreach the crash site.<\/p>\n
Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, who had flown
\nto Medan during the night, went to the crash site to oversee the
\nevacuation operation.<\/p>\n
Haryanto returned to Jakarta yesterday on board a Jetstar.<\/p>\n
Rescue workers had still not located the flight data and voice
\nrecorders -- popularly known as the black box -- by yesterday
\nevening. Their data will be crucial in determining the cause of
\nthe crash.<\/p>\n
The government appointed M. Diran of the Ministry of
\nTransportation to head the investigation team, Director General
\nof Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado said.<\/p>\n
Zainudin told reporters at Polonia airport that it would
\nprobably be three to four months before the cause of the crash
\ncould be known.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Garuda would continue to operate its fleet of
\nAirbus A-300s because there was no reason to ground them, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Antara reported that the plane was equipped with the somewhat
\noutdated Omega Navigator System. Most planes are now equipped
\nwith Global Position System.<\/p>\n
Earlier reports suggested that Capt. Rachmo, had requested
\nnavigation landing instructions from Polonia's control tower.
\nFive minutes later, the plane lost contact and disappeared from
\nthe radar.<\/p>\n
Polonia airport was closed all morning and afternoon yesterday
\nbecause of the haze.<\/p>\n
All the morning and afternoon flights bound for Medan from
\nJakarta were canceled. A flight that left at 6.30 a.m. returned
\nto Soekarno-Hatta airport an hour later. (21\/jun\/10\/prb\/emb\/mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/victims-identification-painfully-slow-1447893297",
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