Gov. Rizal Nurdin, former governor among the dead
Gov. Rizal Nurdin, former governor among the dead
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Medan
Hours before the corpse of North Sumatra Governor Teuku Rizal Nurdin was identified on Monday afternoon, his family abandoned hope that he was among the survivors of the Mandala Boeing-737 crash in Medan.
His brother, Serdang Pagai Regent Teuku Erry Nuradi was highly emotional as he arrived at the crash site just 10 minutes after the accident, aware his sibling was on the plane.
At the governor's residence, gubernatorial staff, along with Rizal's relatives and neighbors gathered to mourn and pray.
North Sumatra provincial spokesman Eddy Sofyan said many staff had made checks of the hospitals in Medan where crash victims had been delivered but there had been no trace of Rizal among the survivors.
"Out of a total of 117 passengers and plane crew, there were 17 survivors, but the governor was not among them. The family then let him go," Eddy said.
The death toll rose to at least 137 people on Monday night, including people on the ground in the densely populated suburb in the city where the commercial aircraft crashed seconds after take-off.
After hours of searching, Rizal's body was identified by his family at about 3 p.m. at the Adam Malik Hospital.
The family plans to bury Rizal on Tuesday in the grounds of the oldest mosque in Medan, Al-Ma'soem, in a military funeral. The governor was a retired military officer.
Rizal was heading to Jakarta accompanied by his adjutant Irawadi -- also among the dead -- to attend a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and other provincial leaders, before the group flew to Lampung for a coordination meeting on Wednesday.
According to a relative, Rizal had initially planned to fly with Garuda on the night before but the flight was fully booked.
The accident also took the life of former North Sumatra governor Raja Inal Siregar, who is a current member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) representing the province.
Another DPD councillor representing North Sumatra Abdul Halim and his wife were also killed in the crash.
Many residents in Medan mourned the deaths of the crash victims by hoisting national flags at half mast in front of their houses.
They said that both the governor and his predecessor were good leaders who were close to the people.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla was among those who expressed his condolences to the families of Rizal and Raja.
In Jakarta, Minister of Home Affairs M. Ma'ruf appointed North Sumatra deputy governor Rudolf Pardede as acting governor on Monday afternoon.
"No matter what happens, there can't be any vacuum in the administration," he said after a hearing at the House of Representatives.
Ma'ruf said that the planned gubernatorial meeting would likely go ahead as there had been no change in the schedule.
The meeting would feature economic ministers who are expected to present policies about infrastructure development in Sumatra and others on foreign loans. There would also be an informal meeting with governors and foreign ambassadors.
Riau Governor M. Rusli Zainal said Rizal was a good person and a good friend.
"It came as a shock to me, as three days earlier we had met to discuss development in Sumatra. This is such a big loss for me because we were long-time friends," he said.