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)