Condition of lone survivor of Jakarta fire improving

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The condition of Tabitha, the only survivor from Saturday's fatal fire that killed six others, was improving on Sunday, although she was still lying weakly on her bed in the burns unit at Pertamina Hospital, South Jakarta.

The five-year-old was able to eat with help from nurses and also started to respond and talk to them.

However, Tabitha was still crying because of the burns she suffered all over her body. Her hands and legs were wrapped in dressings and some bandages could be seen on her cheeks and head. Nurses took turns to calm her down by caressing her.

Dr. Eko Wahyu Wibowo, who was on duty on Sunday, said that she might recover within two weeks should the recovery process go well.

Tabitha was the youngest granddaughter of Evi Kawit, 50, a prosecutor with the South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office. She survived the fire that gutted Evi's house on Jl. Adhyaksa Blok D in the Attorney General's Office (AGO) housing complex, Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, on Saturday morning, thanks to the heroism of Evi's neighbor Andri Lesmana, one of neighbor Aan Syarief's three children, who attempted to save the victims trapped in the fire.

Evi was one of six who died in the fire. The others were her grandchildren, Andika, 9, and Imanuel, 7, and Evi's sister, Eieke, and her two children, Marlin and Linda.

To speed Tabitha's recovery, no visitors or relatives were allowed to be present in the same room.

"For the time being, she cannot receive any visits. If you want to see her, please look through the window," a nurse told The Jakarta Post.

Another nurse said that Tabitha did not yet know that her beloved grandmother and two elder brothers had been killed in the fire.

Tabitha's parents are due to arrive from the United States on Monday.

"They will visit her on Monday," the nurse said.

All six victims were buried at 1 p.m. at Pondok Rajeg cemetery, Cibinong, Bogor, which serves the Attorney General's Office. Also present at the burial was Attorney General M.A. Rachman.