Plane crash victim found alive, after declare dead

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a miraculous story of survival, a passenger of a plane that crashed in the remote jungle of East Kalimantan last week was found alive after rescue workers declared him and another nine people aboard dead.

Surprisingly, Bangau Samuel, the lone survivor in the crash, had suffered only minor injuries to his face and hands, when he was found by a local farmer at around 2 p.m. local time on Monday.

Search and rescue workers announced that all 10 people aboard had died, after locating the Britten Norman plane belonging to PT Borneo Air Transport (BAT) last Wednesday. The aircraft crashed atop a 1,620 meter-high mountain, some eight kilometers from its intended destination of Yuvai Semaring airport in Long Bawan, near the border with Malaysia.

PT BAT President Fhilipus Gaing confirmed on Tuesday that 20- year-old Bangau was undergoing treatment at a health center in Krayan district.

"District head Sarfianus told me via satellite phone that local people had discovered Bangau alive," Fhilipus told Antara in the provincial capital of Samarinda.

"But he is still in such a state of shock that he cannot talk about the accident."

Fhilipus said Bangau was only wearing a black T-shirt and underwear when the farmer spotted him near a rice field in Pa Padi village, about five kilometers from the crash site. He was emaciated and had difficulty keeping upright when he met the farmer named Joki.

"He asked Joki for food because he had not eaten for days. They walked along Krayan river before reaching the village. The local authorities then took him to the health center and immediately contacted his family," Fhilipus said.

Later on Monday, the residents of Pa Padi village took Bangau to the house of Krayan district chief, who then sent the survivor to a nearby health center.

Fhilipus said Bangau's mother Rosmiari had visited him and confirmed he was among the passengers of the ill-fated plane.

His father Yuni Samuel was among the passengers killed in the crash.

Other casualties were pilot Lt. Col. (ret) Suyamto, mechanic attendant Apriansyah, and passengers Johannes, Mariam, Berli, Frans, Fhilipus and Andreas. All of them were Krayan residents.

Fhilipus said the rescue party that had reached the crash site may have believed all 10 people had died because some of the bodies were dismembered.

"Perhaps, when the team and local people arrived at the site, Bangau had already left, so it was not possible to identify him during evacuation," he said.

Some Krayan residents quoted Bangau as saying he heard the rescue team arrive at the crash site but he was too weak to shout. It remains unclear whether he was inside or outside the plane when the rescue workers came.

A number of Long Bawan residents also said the rescue team had never evacuated the victims. They said the operation had been carried out by some 300 local people.

Meanwhile, Abdul Haris, the head of Juwata Airport in Tarakan said he was still waiting for the official report from the head of Long Bawan Airport about Bangau's fate before he could fly him back to his hometown.

"The victim will be flown to Tarakan to confirm the report," Haris said.