Indonesian among passengers on board doomed airliner
Indonesian among passengers on board doomed airliner
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian citizen Eric Samadikun Hartono, 20, was among the passengers on board American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into one of the twin 110-story towers of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York on Tuesday.
"I have received a report from our embassy in Washington that an Indonesian passenger was among the casualties. He was on board the Boston-Los Angeles flight," said Sulaiman Abdulmanan, Information Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jakarta.
Mariana, a cousin of Eric told The Jakarta Post here that the family was informed about the bad news by American Airlines on Wednesday.
She said Eric, who was the youngest of Samadikun's five children, lived in Menteng in Central Jakarta and was a university student in Los Angeles.
"We still have no idea about his remains," Mariana said.
Eric was in the process of moving to Los Angeles from Boston, where he had been living for five years, Mariana said.
Another report from the Indonesian Consulate in New York said that ten Indonesian employees were serving an apprenticeship in WTC, he said.
"For sure, one of them is safe because this person happened to arrive late at the office in the WTC on that fateful day," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Sulaiman, however, was unable to give details of the survivor, adding that officials at the consulate were looking into this matter and were continuously updating reports.
He said nearly 7,000 Indonesians worked and lived in New York and surrounding cities. "But, they live outside Manhattan where the incident took place," he said.
Asked whether there were offices owned by Indonesian businessmen, he said there were two branch offices of Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Indonesia and one restaurant, the Borobudur, located 5 kilometers from the WTC in New York.
Meanwhile, an Indonesian official in New York confirmed on Wednesday that a number of Indonesians worked at the collapsed building, but said he was unable to produce an exact number.
Indonesian Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) Agus Tafyono Sofyan said on Wednesday he was yet to receive an official report about whether Indonesian citizens were among the casualties.
"So far, I have not heard about any Indonesians being among the casualties. But, I know many Indonesians work at the WTC," Agus told The Jakarta Post by telephone from New York, "even the Mayor of New York has yet to disclose the figure."
In the meantime, a security guard at the office figured out that the casualty tolls would be disclosed within the next two or three days because the whole city was closed.
"The situation is still tense. People are still too afraid to venture outside," said Dirjo.
The permanent representative's office ceased activities temporarily soon after the terrorist incident took place and employees were ordered to go home early. (06/08)