Distraught relatives mourn tragic deaths of loved ones

JAKARTA (JP): Emotions ran high yesterday as families of the passengers and crew aboard the fateful GA-152 airplane were left to ponder their loss.

Typical was a man who mused over the last phone call from his sister who complained of a foreboding headache before boarding the fateful flight.

Purwono said he had asked his sister, Andananingsih, to cancel her trip after she complained of a headache.

"She phoned me from the airport that Friday morning telling me that she felt sick," Purwono recalled.

"I pleaded with her not to go. For some reason I didn't feel comfortable," he said. "But she insisted on going. Maybe she missed her husband and son."

Andananingsih, 40, was an employee of the state-owned fertilizer company PT Pupuk Iskandar Muda in Aceh. She was in Jakarta to attend a seminar on behalf of her company.

Her daughter, Nani, a high school student in Surabaya, East Java, was at Soekarno-Hatta airport hoping to get to Medan. Nani was so shocked she refused to speak.

H.M.T. Simanjuntak, 56, was having difficulty accepting the loss of his 22-year-old daughter Ester Monika Simanjutak.

"I am still struggling to face the reality that my daughter has left me forever," he said, trying to steady his emotions.

He recalled with pride his daughter's fast accomplishments as an employee of Auto 2000 in Jakarta. As a member of the human resources department, she had been sent to Medan to recruit new employees.

"Although she was still new, she had already been given a lot of responsibilities," Simanjuntak said of Ester, whom he described as clever, sociable and kindhearted.

Simanjuntak hopes to bring her remains back to Jakarta.

"I want my daughter to be buried in Pondok Kelapa," he said adding that the cemetery was close to his house in Kalimalang, East Jakarta.

Others also said they wanted to bury their loved ones themselves.

Sampetua, son of passenger Hermina Sialagan, 67, said he did not want his mother to be laid in a mass grave.

"I have just one request, don't let my mother be buried like that. Let me take her remains so she can be buried at the family cemetery," he asked.

Sampetua expressed his regret that for the second time he was not at his parent's deathbed. He said his father died in 1991 while he was working on an offshore drilling rig.

"Why did she leave so quickly? I feel I have not served nor given enough happiness to her yet," he said.

Hermina was returning home to Medan after visiting her three sons in Jakarta.

The head of the Medan Fire Department, T.P. Malau, was mourning the loss of both his in-laws, Hiras Pakpahan and Fatimah Lumbangraja, brother-in-law Wanner Pakpahan and sister-in-law Dormauli Pakpahan.

"If we can't have the remains, I hope at least they will let us have four coffins," Malau said at Medan's Adam Malik Hospital.

The crash was particularly shattering for Wenila as she lost her husband, Siwa Shangkar, and her four-year-old son Radis.

"I have nobody else now," she sobbed.

Siwa Shangkar was on his way to attend his father's cremation, which was to be held today in Medan.

Wenila recounted how her son was so excited about the trip. "This surprised me because Radis is usually reluctant to go with my husband," she said.

The son-in-law of husband-and-wife crash victims Tanadi and Rince Sentosa, said he was bewildered by the loss.

"This is a great loss for me and the family," he said, adding that he had learned much from the couple's wisdom.

Tanadi had been a commissioner of Prima Express Bank.

Another person expressed concern at the fate of his brother's remains.

"I only remember that Pariluan wore green clothes and had a diamond ring on a finger," Nelson said.

In Banda Aceh, 17-year-old Aksa Dariasaga and his five brothers remained resolute over the loss of their parents.

"Mom and dad didn't leave any impression that they would be leaving us forever," he said yesterday.

Jakfar Djuned, 56, and Faridah, 49, were among the 234 victims of the disastrous flight. As reported by Antara, Jakfar is head of the Inspectorate office in Aceh. (10/21/jun)