Family dies in fire with memento on the Net
Family dies in fire with memento on the Net
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Darmawan Supratisto, 36, had long dreamed of having a website
dedicated to his family. His dream, indeed, came true on Friday
with the launch of www.supratisto.com on the Internet.
But Darmawan and his family never lived to see it.
All four members of the family and two housemaids were killed
in an inferno that entrapped them in a rented house in the Bumi
Harapan Permai housing complex in Kramatjati, East Jakarta, early
Friday morning.
Darmawan, his wife Yetti Aryani, 36, and their two children,
Ganis Yusuf Aristo, 10, and Viganya Aisyah Aristo, 5, were
discovered dead in the family lounge, locked in one last embrace.
The two housemaids, Siti, 16, and Susilowati, 40, were found dead
in the kitchen.
The tragedy took place only a few hours prior to the launching
of the website.
"I was shocked when I heard the terrible news. Yesterday,
Darmawan and I were talking on the phone about details of the
launch of the family's private homepage today," PT Sisfo
Indonesia chief executive officer Nirwan Harahap said.
Nirwan quoted Darmawan as saying: "I just wish the information
about my family and career could be accessed on the Internet by
those who need it."
Once news of the tragedy spread, the website's guest book was
filled with sympathy messages and condolences.
On the website, Darmawan, who was the director of investment
firm PT Permodalan Nasional Madani Investment, displays the
family members' photographs and information.
Eyewitnesses suspected the fire began on the second floor of
the two-story house.
Panicked occupants had attempted to break the windows to gain
access but iron bars blocked their way.
"We tried to help them but there were these iron bars. They
(the family) could not find the keys ... The burning roof
collapsed on them," said Abdul Rahman, a security guard in the
housing complex.
Eight fire trucks were deployed, with firefighters
extinguishing the fire an hour later.
Police alleged the fire was caused by a short circuit.
The family were living in the rented house because their own
house, directly opposite the rented house, was under renovation.
The family were buried in one plot at the Tanjung Barat
cemetery, South Jakarta. Siti was buried next to them.
Susilowati's remains were taken by her family for burial in
Semper, North Jakarta.
On Nov. 8, six people were killed in a fire that razed a house
in the Attorney General's Office (AGO) housing complex in Lebak
Bulus, South Jakarta. A toddler miraculously survived in the
inferno.