Indorayon president among victims

Indorayon president among victims

JAKARTA (JP): Businessman Polar Yanto Tanoto, who just a day
earlier had received an award from President Soeharto, is one of
the tragic stories in yesterday's crash which claimed 234 lives
including two children and several foreigners.

As president of PT Inti Indorayon Utama, Polar represented one
of the 66 companies rewarded by Soeharto for its outstanding
achievements in non-oil exports.

The company's public relations officer, Rizani, told The
Jakarta Post that Polar was on his way home to Medan.

Polar had also served in the international trade division of
the Ministry of Industry and Trade in North Sumatra.

Two television journalists from SCTV were also on board the
flight ill-fated flight. Reporter Ferdinandus Sius and cameraman
Yance Iskandar had been sent to cover the haze problem in the
area.

Colleagues at the television station said they were bound for
Pekanbaru, Riau. But since the airport there was closed they
decided to go to Medan instead and travel overland to Pekanbaru.

Medan is about 450 kilometers from Pekanbaru.

Ferdinandus was single but Yance is survived by a wife and one
child.

Among the foreigners on board were six Japanese.

Kazuo Yagi, second secretary at the Japanese Embassy in
Jakarta, confirmed that two of them -- Otake, 60, and Tomimura,
49, -- were officials at the Jakarta office of the Japan
International Cooperation Agency.

Relatives of the victims started filtering into the Garuda
head office in Central Jakarta about four hours after the crash
occurred.

There they looked with dread through the flight manifest to
confirm whether their loved ones had been aboard.

Two Americans were also on board.

Polonia airport officials were quoted by Antara as saying that
the two Americans were Loyd Herr and Hase Herr. Both were working
for PT Gas Alam Arun in Lhokseumawe, Aceh.

Antara also reported that a travel agency from Bali had called
to say that four German tourists were booked on the flight.

However this report could not be independently confirmed.

Suhaimi Pulungan, director of the state-owned insurance
company PT Jasa Raharja, said each of the victim's families would
receive Rp 40 million (US$13,550) in compensation.(10/jun/das)